Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants
ShrubsFruit Edible

Ribes rubrum 'Redstart' (R)
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

redcurrant 'Redstart'

A deciduous shrub about 1.5m tall if left unpruned. It has green lobed leaves and pale green flowers which develop into strings of bright red berries in August

Buy this plant
Size
Ultimate height
1–1.5 metres
Time to ultimate height
2–5 years
Ultimate spread
1–1.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid, Neutral, Alkaline
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Green Green Red
Autumn Green
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
  • Partial shade
Aspect

East–facing or North–facing or South–facing or West–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H6
Botanical details
Family
Grossulariaceae
Native to GB / Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Genus

Ribes can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes spiny, with simple, usually palmately lobed leaves and small tubular or bell-shaped, solitary or racemose flowers borne in spring or summer, followed by juicy, sometimes edible berries

Name status

Accepted

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in any soil in light shade. For more advice see redcurrant cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by hardwood cuttings in autumn

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Edible fruit
Pruning

May be pruned to create a permanent framework as a bush, standard, cordon or fan. Main pruning in dormant season; also summer pruning of vigorous side shoots

Pests

May be susceptible to gall mites, gall midge, gooseberry sawfly and aphids

Diseases

May be susceptible to a leaf spot, powdery mildews, coral spot and sometimes honey fungus

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.