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Red Flowering Currant
Ribes sanguineum
  
56 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Red Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) 56 Nurseries Carry This Plant Flowering Currant or Red-flowering Currant is a species in the Grossulariaceae (Currants and Gooseberries) family that is native to western coastal North America from central British Columbia south to central California. It is a deciduous shrub growing up to 13 feet tall. The bark is dark brownish-grey and the leaves are 1-3 inches long and broad. When young in spring, they have a strong resinous scent. The flowers are produced in early spring at the same time as the leaves emerge, on racemes of 5-30 flowers; each flower is 5-10 millimeters in diameter, with five red or pink petals. The fruit is a dark purple oval berry 1 centimeter long, edible but with an insipid taste, best left for the birds. Near the coast it is flexible as to water and exposure. Inland it prefers more water and shade.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
6.5 - 13 ft tall
7 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast, Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Winter Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Red, Pink, Purple

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported
 
Hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. Other birds are attracted to the fruits. It is host plant to several butterfly species.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 85 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Hyalophora euryalus Image
Ceanothus Silkmoth Hyalophora euryalusHyalophora euryalus
*
Polygonia gracilis Image
Hoary Comma Polygonia gracilisPolygonia gracilis
*
Aglais milberti Image
Milbert's Tortoiseshell Aglais milbertiAglais milberti
*
Polygonia satyrus Image
Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrusPolygonia satyrus
*
Polygonia faunus Image
Green Comma Polygonia faunusPolygonia faunus
*
Lycaena arota Image
Tailed Copper Lycaena arotaLycaena arota
*
Polygonia oreas Image
Oreas Comma Polygonia oreasPolygonia oreas

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 3x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 56

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates a variety of soils. Soil PH: 5.5 - 7.0

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Trees: Maples (Acer sp.), Alders (Alnus sp.), Giant Chinquapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla), Ash (Fraxinus sp.), Coast Silktassel (Garry elliptica), Pines (Pinus sp.), Cottonwood (Populus sp.), Oaks (Quercus sp.), and Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica)

Shrubs: Serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.), Ceanothus sp., Dogwood (Cornus sp.), coffeeberry (Frangula sp.), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor), and Snowberry (Symphoricarpos sp.)

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: 3.5-5 mos. stratification (USDA Forest Service 1974).

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Found along the coast and in the Coast Ranges, often on north facing slopes. It occurs in several habitats including chaparral, forest and woodland.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.7" - 154.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 5.95", Coldest Month: 11.3" - 58.3", Hottest Month: 34.6" - 89.1", Humidity: 0.01" - 39.60", Elevation: -232" - 14040"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Redflower Currant


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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


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