Whitecurant White Versailles (Ribes rubrum) Fruit Bush 3ltr Pot

About Whitecurrant White Versailles

This popular early variety is the first whitecurrant to crop in the season. A heavy cropping variety producing masses of large, shiny, soft pale yellow/white berries in long heavy trusses during mid-late summer. The fruit is deliciously sweet, not as acidic as redcurrant, so is great for eating fresh or using in a wide range of culinary purposes. White Versailles has a vigorous, upright bushy growth habit with attractive arching canes and serrated three lobed pale green leaves. A very reliable cropper year after year.

• Self fertile
• Plant 45cm apart
• Height & Spread 1.5m x 1.5m
• Crops July

An ideal fruit to grow in a container or small garden, the white currant is a popular mid-season fruit that produces yields from July on . This is a hardy and easy to grow plant that is great for new growers and expert cooks alike. Thick woody stems produce light green serrated leaves and dangling clusters of almost transparent white fruit. A refreshing fruit that’s not as tart s it’s red and black cousins it goes well with yogurt, ice cream or on its own. The sweet juice of the redcurrant goes amazing well with lemonade or if crushed up with gin and tonic water. Because of its milder flavour, this berry also goes well with cheese and hams in a ploughman’s lunch or on a cheeseboard. This hardy white currant produces fruits rich in vitamin C that will grow without splitting.

How to look after white currants

White Currants prefer moist, well-drained soil in full sun, or light shade. Feed with a liquid fertilizer once in the spring to encourage a good yield. Repot every 2-3 years into the same pot or slightly larger. Trim back some of the roots and tease away the old soil replacing it with fresh compost. Trim twice-yearly and In July, trim all new side shoots to 5 leaves. In winter, cut back main stems by half and any side shoots back to 2 buds. Any stems that are damaged, dead or out of place can also be removed.

How do you harvest white currants?

In early to mid-summer, the plant will produce small white or pink flowers that will soon fall off to reveal the young fruit. Over the next few months, the fruit will grow inside and change from green-yellow to an almost transparent white. Once the whole fruit has no colour on it you can harvest the fruit by pinching it and twisting it off the stem. Avoid pulling the fruit as it may not come off completely.

How do you store white currants?

Once picked a redcurrant will not last long. If you want to preserve your fruits for longer you can either blend the fruits into a thick juice which you can freeze or freeze whole fruits in an airtight bag.