Currant in Zone 5a & 5b
Ribes spp.
When to plant currant in zone 5b
Zones 5a and 5b share the same average frost dates in our data, so this page covers both.
Method: Buy as a start: Buy as a nursery start and transplant outside. Currant is slow or unreliable from seed, so most gardeners skip seed-starting it entirely.
| Start indoors | Not started from seed; buy as a nursery start |
|---|---|
| Direct sow / transplant outside | Apr 12–Apr 19 |
| Estimated harvest | Apr 11 '29–Apr 18 '29 (First real harvest the season after planting) |
Spacing: about 20 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 3-5 ft.
Currants are the fruit for the difficult corner. They tolerate part shade better than anything else you can grow for fruit, they're hardy to zone 3, and they crop from their second year. If you have a north-facing fence or a spot that only gets morning sun, this is what goes there.
How currant fits zone 5's season
Zone 5b's frost-free window runs about 148 days, from May 10 to October 5. Currant takes about 1 growing season to reach first worthwhile harvest, so what matters here is how many of these seasons it gets, not whether one is long enough.
Currant is hardy in zones 3-8, so in zone 5b it stays in the ground through winter and comes back rather than being replanted. Allow about 4 ft of spread at maturity.
Good companions
No standout companions recorded yet for Currant.
Where to buy currant starts
Currant is almost always bought as a nursery start rather than seeded. Check a local nursery or garden center; we haven't vetted online start/plant suppliers yet.
See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing currant" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Currant in USDA zone 5b: when to start seeds indoors, when to direct-sow, and when to expect a harvest.
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