Ribes alpinum
Alpine Currant
Saxifragaceae
ExpandHabitat
- native to Europe
- hardy to zone 2
Habit and Form
- a deciduous shrub
- twiggy adn dense
- 3' to 6' tall
- equally wide or greater
- upright stems
- medium texture
- moderate growth rate
Summer Foliage
- deciduous leaves in an alternate arrangement
- simple leaves
- 3 to 5 lobed leaves
- ovate leaf shape
- 1" to 2" long
- dentate leaf margins
- truncate leaf base
- pubescent
- bright green leaf color
Autumn Foliage
- yellow fall color
- not ornamentally important
Flowers
- dioecious
- greenish-yellow flowers
- blooms in April
- borne in 1" to 2" long racemes
- not ornamentally important
Fruit
- a red berry
- 0.33" in diameter
- produced in July; only on female plant
- rarely seen
Bark
- exfoliating chestnut brown stems
Culture
- readily translanted
- soil adaptable
- full sun is best
- tolerates shade
- can be rejunvenated with heavy pruning
- prune anytime
Landscape Use
- hedge plant
- massing or groupings
Liabilities
- anthracnose
- can blight
- leaf spot
- rusts
- currant aphids
- scale
- currant bud mite
ID Features
- stalked, large, imbricate, grayish-tan buds
- ridged leaf scar
- red fruit
- greenish-yellow flowers
Propagation
- by softwood cuttings
- by seed
Cultivars/Varieties
'Aureum' - This is an old cultivar with yellow foliage that develops best in sun. The intensity of the color may diminish in summer.
'Europa' - Growing to 8' tall, this is a densely branched plant that bears handsome foliage.
'Green Mound', 'Nana', 'Compacta', and 'Pumila' - These are all dwarf forms that generally grow to form dense shrubs to 3' tall.
'Spreg' (Green Jeans) - Notable for its good leaf retention, this 3'-5' tall plant has healthy leaves all season.