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Post by raymondo on Jan 6, 2013 15:31:30 GMT -5
Aka the red-flowering currant. Has anyone tried the fruit from this plant? I'm thinking of using them as a hedge along the west side of one of my trellises to provide some protection for runner beans.
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Post by diane on Jan 6, 2013 16:31:08 GMT -5
I have lots of wild berries in my yard that I use, but I've never noticed berries on my flowering currants. So that means I've never tried eating one.
They were not highly regarded by the various first nations around here. They ate them fresh but didn't bother picking them to dry.
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Post by trixtrax on Jan 7, 2013 22:55:07 GMT -5
These are cool looking plants that are great food sources for hummingbirds. But, most varieties do not create plenty of fruit and especially good tasting fruit. Most selections available have been selected for flowering not fruiting. In the wild, I have occasionally seen plants that do have good fruit on the small size of a currant.
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Post by raymondo on Jan 8, 2013 4:58:57 GMT -5
Thanks guys. Perhaps this is one that will end up feeding the birds. It's pretty so I might go ahead and get one anyway. I wonder if they will cross with other Ribes species.
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Post by trixtrax on Jan 8, 2013 23:37:31 GMT -5
Raymondo, I don't think R. sanguineum crosses widely, though the flowering varieties commonly available that are typically available are actually hybrids with another sanguineum-like species or another eco-type from Russia I believe. Have you considered Clove currant (Ribes odoratum)? Showy flowers, good tasting fruits, smells stongly of cloves, handles dry climes well, I would think it would do great for a Aussie.
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Post by diane on Jan 9, 2013 2:11:21 GMT -5
I don't grow any other Ribes so I don't have any chance of inter-species hybrids. I bought a white flowering sanguineum which has crossed with my wild red ones to produce pinks (must have been the hummingbirds' doing).
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Post by steev on Jan 9, 2013 2:51:55 GMT -5
Oh! Blame the poor little hummingbirds for your failure to adequately supervise your slutty plants!
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Post by raymondo on Jan 10, 2013 17:04:13 GMT -5
Raymondo, I don't think R. sanguineum crosses widely, though the flowering varieties commonly available that are typically available are actually hybrids with another sanguineum-like species or another eco-type from Russia I believe. Have you considered Clove currant (Ribes odoratum)? Showy flowers, good tasting fruits, smells stongly of cloves, handles dry climes well, I would think it would do great for a Aussie. I'll look around for that one.
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Post by atash on Jan 10, 2013 19:01:43 GMT -5
Probably not. Distinctly resinous. Not usually heavy fruiters anyway.
Oh so beautiful though with its hot watermelon-pink blossoms. First time I ever saw one I thought I was looking at garishly colored litter: I could not believe that anything so brightly colored lived in the gloomy depths of the evergreen forest where I saw it. Took a closer look and was flabbergasted. Not typical of our usually demure flowering shrubs.
I'm trying some of its cousins from Chile for better fruit but not as showy looks.
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