Side by side
Redcurrant or mountain currant? How to tell them apart
Ribes rubrum · Ribes alpinum
How to tell them apart – redcurrant: larger leaves, hanging flower clusters and big, juicy red berries; mountain currant: dense, thornless currant with small, three-lobed leaves that come out early in spring, often planted as a hedge in shade.
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How do you recognise them?
- Redcurrant
- Spineless currant bush with lobed leaves and strings of red (or white) berries.
- Compared with mountain currant: larger leaves, hanging flower clusters and big, juicy red berries.
- Mountain currant
- Dense, thornless currant with small, three-lobed leaves that come out early in spring; often planted as a hedge in shade.
| Redcurrant | Mountain currant | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, 3–5-lobed, 4–8 cm, toothed; odourless. | Alternate, 2–5 cm, roundish with 3 (sometimes 5) deeply toothed lobes, glossy and almost hairless; leafs out as early as March. |
| Flowering | Hanging strings of small greenish-yellow flowers in April (April). | Small, greenish-yellow flowers in short, upright clusters, in April–May; male and female on separate shrubs (April–May). |
| Fruit | Strings of glossy red or white berries in June–July. | Small red berries in July, only on female shrubs; edible, but insipid. |
| Bark | Greyish-brown and smooth. | Thin, greyish-brown twigs without prickles; old stems with peeling bark. |
| Shape and height | Shrub, 1–1.5 m | Shrub, 1–2 m |
| Site | Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, normal | Sun to shade, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | Yes | Yes |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | Yes, for bees and birds | – |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | July and November–February | May–June and August |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Both are native and good for wildlife: choose what suits your soil, your light and the space you have.
Read on
- Plant profile: Redcurrant
- Plant profile: Mountain currant
- Redcurrant: when and how to prune
- Mountain currant: when and how to prune
- Identification key
Also looks like
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.