Ribes rubrum Hollande blanche - Whitecurrant

With regular and abundant production, this Dutch Whitecurrant Bush is a vigorous variety with large white berries tinged with pink, and nicely branched vegetation. Its tasty fruits have a sweet flavour and a delightful fragrance. The currants can be harvested from mid-July. It is an excellent variety that offers a good yield. Not too acidic, it is well suited for eating straight from the bush and is ideal for the table. Easy to grow in non-scorching sunlight, in well-drained, even poor, soil.

The Currant Bush, also known as Ribes rubrum, belongs to the Grossulariaceae family. It is a plant that has been cultivated for a long time and grows spontaneously in many temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, from Europe to Siberia, and to Manchuria. 'Dutch White' is a bushy, thornless shrub with a tufted habit of slightly stiff, branches, with soft wood. This bush will reach a height of 1.30m (4ft) with a width of 1m (3 to 4ft). The foliage is deciduous, composed of palmate, lobed, and aromatic leaves, medium green. Flowering occurs in early May, in the form of clusters of small, inconspicuous greenish to brownish flowers, intensely visited by bees. Fruiting occurs mainly on one and two year old branches. The bush is then covered with numerous clusters of small round and translucent berries, initially green then white-pink, 6mm (0.2in) in diameter, containing small seeds. Harvesting takes place as the fruits ripen, starting from mid-July. The currants have pale, juicy, sweet, and slightly acidic flesh. Currants are low-calorie fruits (whether white or red), rich in minerals and trace elements, as well as potassium, calcium, and phosphorus. They also provide a good source of vitamin C and fibre. The yield of this variety is good, around 6kg per plant if the growing conditions are optimal. The root system is shallow.

Use fresh currants in jelly or pastry, for tart fillings or sorbets. In the garden, this bush becomes attractive when laden with its long clusters of translucent pearls that play with the summer light. The pleasure is threefold, visual, gastronomic and olfactory, when its warm foliage scents the garden. It pairs well with varieties of pink or red currants, gooseberry bushes, as well as shrubs that offer a beautiful non-edible fruiting display, such as Leycesteria formosa, beautyberries, Nandina domestica and its varieties, Japanese quinces, small-leaved Cotoneaster, St. John's wort Magical Beauty, symphoricarpos... For small gardens or to save space, it is wise to train this 'Dutch White' currant bush against a wall or as a standard. Note that the currant bush can also be grown in a terrace orchard, as it performs well in large pots, with a depth of at least 40cm (15.7in), while avoiding watering it with excessively hard water.

The wild currant Ribes rubrum has medicinal properties. It is used for the treatment of rheumatism and infectious diseases, especially when the fruits are consumed fresh.