Whisky Currant (Ribes inebrians)
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full sun
- Frost limit
- −34.4 °C
Cultivation
Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality. Hardy to about -20°c. This species is closely related to R. cereum. Plants can harbour a stage of 'white pine blister rust', so they should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 4 - 5 months cold stratification at between 0 to 9°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible. Under normal storage conditions the seed can remain viable for 17 years or more. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, November to February in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors.
Edible uses
Fruit - raw or cooked. Leaves - cooked.
Medicinal uses
A poultice of the plant has been applied to sores.
Habitat
Dry slopes to 3700 metres in California.
Native range
Western N. America - California to Idaho, Nebraska and New Mexico.