When to plant currants in Oregon and Washington

In Portland: Plant currant bushes Mar 1 – Apr 26. In Bend: Apr 28 – Jun 23. Find your city below.

Difficulty: Easy
Sun: Full sun west of the Cascades; afternoon shade east
Spacing: 4 to 5 feet apart
Planting depth: An inch or two deeper than in the pot
Frost: Hardy perennial; comes back every year
First harvest: A small crop in year two; full crops from year three

Red, white and black currants are among the few fruits that crop in part shade. Pick black currant varieties resistant to white pine blister rust, a disease they can spread to five-needle pines.

Currants planting dates

City	Plant in the garden
Portland, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Seattle and Tacoma, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Eugene, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Spokane, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Bend and Redmond, OR	Apr 28 – Jun 23
Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA	Mar 20 – May 15

Find your town

Portland area, OR 6 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Gresham, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR	Mar 5 – Apr 30
Oregon City and West Linn, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Portland, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
St. Helens and Scappoose, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Wilsonville and Canby, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26

Willamette Valley, OR 5 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Corvallis and Albany, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Cottage Grove, OR	Mar 13 – May 8
Eugene, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
McMinnville and Newberg, OR	Mar 4 – Apr 29
Salem, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26

Southern Oregon, OR 4 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Ashland and Talent, OR	Mar 25 – May 20
Grants Pass, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Medford, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Roseburg, OR	Mar 1 – Apr 26

Oregon Coast, OR 5 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Astoria, OR	Mar 25 – May 20
Brookings and Gold Beach, OR	Mar 25 – May 20
Coos Bay and North Bend, OR	Mar 25 – May 20
Newport and Lincoln City, OR	Mar 25 – May 20
Tillamook, OR	Mar 25 – May 20

Central Oregon and the high desert, OR 6 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Bend and Redmond, OR	Apr 28 – Jun 23
Burns, OR	Apr 30 – Jun 25
Klamath Falls, OR	Apr 28 – Jun 23
Lakeview, OR	Apr 23 – Jun 18
Madras, OR	Apr 20 – Jun 15
Prineville, OR	Apr 20 – Jun 15

Columbia Gorge and eastern Oregon, OR 9 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Baker City, OR	Apr 20 – Jun 15
Enterprise and Joseph, OR	Apr 20 – Jun 15
Hermiston, OR	Mar 20 – May 15
Hood River, OR	Mar 20 – May 15
John Day, OR	Apr 20 – Jun 15
La Grande, OR	Apr 1 – May 27
Ontario, OR	Mar 20 – May 15
Pendleton, OR	Mar 20 – May 15
The Dalles, OR	Mar 20 – May 15

Seattle and Puget Sound, WA 6 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Everett, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Olympia, WA	Mar 18 – May 13
Seattle and Tacoma, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Shelton, WA	Mar 16 – May 11

North Sound and the islands, WA 5 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Anacortes, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Bellingham, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26

Olympic Peninsula and coast, WA 6 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA	Mar 25 – May 20
Forks, WA	Mar 25 – May 20
Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA	Mar 25 – May 20
Port Angeles, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Port Townsend, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Sequim, WA	Mar 10 – May 5

Southwest Washington, WA 3 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Centralia and Chehalis, WA	Mar 11 – May 6
Longview and Kelso, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26
Vancouver, WA	Mar 1 – Apr 26

Wenatchee and the Okanogan, WA 5 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Chelan, WA	Mar 20 – May 15
Leavenworth, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Omak and Okanogan, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Wenatchee, WA	Mar 20 – May 15
Winthrop and Twisp, WA	Apr 3 – May 29

Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin, WA 8 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Ellensburg, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Ephrata and Quincy, WA	Mar 20 – May 15
Goldendale, WA	Apr 7 – Jun 2
Moses Lake, WA	Mar 20 – May 15
Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA	Mar 20 – May 15
Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA	Mar 20 – May 15
Walla Walla, WA	Mar 20 – May 15
Yakima, WA	Mar 27 – May 22

Spokane and eastern Washington, WA 3 towns

City	Plant in the garden
Colville, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Pullman, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Spokane, WA	Apr 1 – May 27

How to grow currants

Pick a sunny spot with soil that drains well, and mix in an inch or two of compost.
Plant currant bushes on your city's dates, 4 to 5 feet apart. An inch or two deeper than in the pot.
Prune in late winter: keep about ten stems of different ages and cut out any older than three or four years. Mulch to keep roots cool.
Harvest: Pick whole clusters (strigs) once all the berries are colored. Red currants hang on the bush for a couple of weeks; black currants are best picked as soon as they're ripe.

Popular currants varieties

Widely sold picks that do well somewhere in Oregon or Washington. The tag says which side of the mountains suits each one best.

Rovada

Red, long clusters · Ripens July

Long strings of large, bright red berries that are easy to pick. Late-flowering, which helps it avoid spring frost damage, and very productive.

Both sides

Red Lake

Red, classic · Ripens July

A long-time favorite red currant with medium-large, tart berries ideal for jelly. Hardy and dependable.

Both sides

Blanka

White · Ripens July

Translucent white berries that are a little sweeter and milder than red currants, good for eating fresh. Heavy yields on a sturdy bush.

Both sides

Titania

Black, rust-resistant · Ripens July

A vigorous, high-yielding black currant resistant to white pine blister rust. Rich, full flavor for jam and syrup.

Both sides

Consort

Black, rust-resistant · Ripens July

An older rust-resistant black currant with strong, musky flavor. Self-fertile and very hardy.

Both sides

Key numbers

Full sun to part shadeSun
5.5–7.0Soil pH
15–20 yearsProductive life
CurrantwormBiggest risk

Growing notes

What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.

Red, white and black currants

Red and white currants make sparkling, tart jelly and are lovely raw in small amounts. Black currants are stronger and musky, best for jam, syrup and cordial. All are hardy, long-lived bushes that crop well in cool summers and in spots with a few hours of shade, which makes them good fits for Northwest gardens.

White pine blister rust

Black currants (and to a lesser extent other currants and gooseberries) are an alternate host of white pine blister rust, a disease that kills five-needle pines like western white pine. Plant rust-resistant black currant varieties such as Titania, Consort or Crusader, especially if you live near forests with white pines.

Pruning and pests

Currants fruit best on two- and three-year-old wood. Each late winter, cut out stems older than three or four years at ground level and keep about ten stems of mixed ages. Black currants fruit on younger wood, so prune them a bit harder.

In spring, watch for imported currantworm: green, spotted larvae that start under the lower leaves and can strip a bush in a week. Pick them off or spray with spinosad. Net the bushes as berries color.

Common questions about growing currants

Can currants grow in shade?

Yes, better than most fruit. A few hours of direct sun is enough, and afternoon shade helps in hot eastern valleys.

Is red-flowering currant the same plant?

It's a related native shrub grown for its spring flowers. Its berries are edible but dry and bland; grow red, white or black currants for fruit.

Do I need two currant bushes?

Red and white currants are self-fertile and crop well alone. Black currants set fruit alone too, but most give bigger crops with a second variety nearby.

More berries and perennial crops

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