GOLDEN CURRANT (Ribes odoratum), also known as Buffalo Currant and Clove Currant, is an American native shrub with coarsley toothed leaves that form thickets as high as 5-6 feet tall. The name comes from the fragrant (clove scented) golden yellow flowers in the Spring, important to many pollinators, and which produce purple-black fruit in June. These fruits were important to Plains Indians who used them to prepare pemmican, a winter staple that combined the fruit with game (usually buffalo) and fat, hence the other name. The fruit was also used by them to make decorative body paint. The plant provides nesting cover and food for several songbirds. If you can manage to keep any on the bush, you can let them dry on the bush to make craisins (currant raisins). Extra bonus is the fall color. Self-fertile. Hardy to zone 2. 10 seeds.
ABOUT CURRANTS: I've noticed a LOT of confusing material on the Internet about currants. Let me set the record straight. Ribes rubrum and Ribes sativum are the popular red and white currants. Less well-known, but hardier are Ribes alpinum or mountain currant and Ribes odoratum/aureum or golden/buffalo currant. Both of these are hardy to zone 2. Ribes nigrum, the black currant is the one that may not be grown in parts of the United States as it is considered to be a host for white pine disease. It is also the largest - up to 8'.
GROWING TIPS: You will need to cold stratify for 3 months if not planting in fall.
CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM GARDEN SEEDS & PLANTS offer hundreds of heirloom and vintage open-pollinated varieties! Most have histories dating back centuries and are tried and true producers. Some are rare, or threatened with extinction. When you grow a plant from heirloom seed and save that seed, you are participating in a practice that goes back for generations. Our grandparents and their grandparents grew these varieties. Often the seeds were prized possessions carried to the New World when they emigrated.
Ever notice how most seed catalogs require you to buy (and pay for) much more seed than you could ever possibly use in a season? If you have a budget for garden seeds, this limits your choices! Although seeds can be viable for longer than one growing season, it requires that they be stored at a consistent temperature and humidity. Few of us do this. CherryGal sizes its seed packets for the home gardener, because we know you may want to grow 5 different lettuces, or three different corns, and don’t want to have to take out a second mortgage to do so! CHERRYGAL SEEDS ARE A TREMENDOUS BARGAIN!
All seeds offered are FRESH stock, with high germination rates. Varieties are specially selected for home gardeners. If you want the flavor you remember from grandma's kitchen garden or the beauty of her cottage flowers, choose CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM SEEDS.
ABOUT OPEN-POLLINATED SEEDS . . . All CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are heirlooms (dating at least 100 years) or vintage (mid-20th Century or older) OPEN-POLLINATED varieties. This means saved seed will be true to the parent. Don't be dazzled by the never-ending array of hybrid seeds promoted by gardening suppliers. First, seeds from that produce will not grow true to the parent -- you have to keep buying hybrid seed. Second, most hybrids are developed for market – not home -- growers with an emphasis on extended shelf life, storage and shipping qualities -- NOT flavor, texture and all those other elements that home growers seek.
All CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM SEEDS come from reputable growers (most of them small farms) and wherever possible ORGANIC suppliers (so noted). By buying CHERRYGAL SEEDS you are supporting the growing worldwide movement of SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE and with a little practice you will be able to save even more money in the future by growing open-pollinated varieties and saving seed for next year. All my seeds are DOUBLE GERMINATION TESTED: First by my growers and then by me. Please Note: CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are guaranteed to be fresh stock, but are not guaranteed as to results (sorry - we wish we could, but there are too many variables in gardening) so please do not ask to return. However, we think you will be pleased and would like to hear about your gardening success!
SHIPPING: I endeavor to ship my seeds as quickly as possible - usually within 24 - 48 hours. If there is a need for more time, you will be advised at time of purchase and shipped as soon as possible. In the event an item becomes unavailable or temporarily out of stock I will offer you a chance to substitute another selection or refund you immediately. I package my seeds for shipping in a manner appropriate to the amount and type of seed - larger orders and larger seeds require more packaging. I also combine multiple orders of the same seed variety, where practical, in one envelope unless you request otherwise. This is an ecological measure, not a cost-saving one. Whether you choose first class mail or priority shipping, your seeds will ship using a delivery confirmation number which will be supplied to you.
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