Golden Currant, Ribes aureum

About Golden Currant (Ribes aureum) 45 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Known by the common names Golden Currant, Buffalo Currant, Clove Currant and Missouri Currant, it is a species of small to medium-sized deciduous shrubs 6-10 feet tall. It blooms in spring with golden yellow flowers, often with a pronounced fragrance similar to that of cloves or vanilla. The flowers attract hummingbirds and monarch butterflies. Leaves are green, shaped similarly to gooseberry leaves, turning red in autumn. The plant is deciduous from late December to early February. The shrub produces berries about half an inch in diameter from an early age. Ripe fruits, amber yellow to black in color, are edible, and attract a wide range of birds. There are two main varieties: Ribes aureum var aureum and Ribes var. gracillimum. Both are known by the common name of golden currant. Ribes aureum var aureum grows in high mountains where winter temperatures dip below zero degrees F, and tends to have an upright form. Ribes aureum var gracillimum grows in the coast and foothills, and tends to have a more sprawling form that works for groundcover applications.

The Golden currant grows best in areas with somewhat more ground water, such as the bottom of slopes, near creeks or canyon bottoms, or near irrigated areas. On the coast, it prefers full sun. Inland, it prefers part shade and does best when surrounded by mulch. It grows well under oak trees and in mixed chaparral. When it's thriving, it self-seeds and spreads out from the original plant and can serve as a groundcover.

Very easy to grow, and needs no special care once established.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub

Size

6 - 10 ft tall
5 - 10 ft wide

Form

Upright, Fountain

Growth Rate

Fast, Moderate

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Fragrance

Fragrant - Pleasant, Slight

Flower Color

Yellow, Cream

Flowering Season

Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported

Bees and butterflies are attracted to the flowers. A variety of birds are attracted to the fruits and seeds.
Hummingbird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed

, 83 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Western Tent Caterpillar Malacosoma californicaMalacosoma californica

Hoary Comma Polygonia gracilisPolygonia gracilis

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Aglais milbertiAglais milberti

Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrusPolygonia satyrus

Green Comma Polygonia faunusPolygonia faunus

Tailed Copper Lycaena arotaLycaena arota

Oreas Comma Polygonia oreasPolygonia oreas

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade

Moisture

Low, Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation

Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 45

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 0 - 30° F

Soil Drainage

Medium, Slow

Soil Description

Tolerates a variety of soils. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Groundcovers, Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants

Use with other woodland plants such as Oaks (Quercus species), Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus), Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii), Western Spice Bush (Calycanthus occidentalis), Creek Dogwood (Cornus sericea), Meadow Rue (Thalictrum fendleri), Snowdrop Bush (Styrax officinalis), Yellow Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus), Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale), and Huckleberry (Vaccinum ovatum).

Maintenance

Remove unwanted suckers to contain spread

Propagation?

Seeds, cuttiings, layering or division (suckers). For propagating by seed: 2.5-3 mos. stratification. Alternative treatments: moisten seeds with 0.2% KN03 and stratif y 2 wks.; or soak in 0.3% thiourea 40 mins., rinse under running water and sow (Stidham et al. 1980).

Natural Setting

Site Type

Found in a variety of settings and habitats most often slope bottoms, creek sides, bottoms of slopes adjacent to wetland-riparian. Also found in drier settings such as sagebrush scrub, woodlands (oak, juniper, pine), or at higher elevations in fir or pine forest

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 5.8" - 51.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.18" - 2.63", Coldest Month: 24.5" - 55.6", Hottest Month: 46.6" - 81.0", Humidity: 0.58" - 28.86", Elevation: 24" - 10095"

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Golden Currant

Ribes aureum

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Golden CurrantRibes aureum

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Golden Currant

Ribes aureum