Clove Currant
Missouri Giant Currant is a stunning ornamental fruit bush that delivers on both beauty and flavor. This cultivar of Ribes odoratum, commonly called the clove currant, produces deliciously fragrant yellow flowers in early spring that perfume the garden with a distinctive clove scent. The bush grows 4-5 feet tall with a spreading habit, making it equally at home as a specimen plant or a productive edible hedge. The fruit that follows is sweeter than most black currants, and in autumn the gooseberry-shaped foliage turns brilliant red and yellow, extending the plant's ornamental season well into fall.
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4-9
?in H x ?in W
Perennial
High
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The clove-scented yellow flowers that emerge in early spring are genuinely intoxicating, filling the garden with their distinctive spice-like fragrance. Beyond the sensory appeal, this is one of the sweetest black currant varieties you can grow, with fruit that tastes notably richer and less tart than standard types. The spreading 4-5 foot habit and gorgeous seasonal foliage make it work beautifully as a living hedge while simultaneously producing edible fruit, combining utility with genuine garden elegance.
The dark berries are eaten fresh or processed into jams, syrups, and preserves, where their sweetness shines without requiring excessive sugar. Beyond the kitchen, this variety earns its place in the landscape as an ornamental edible hedge, valued as much for its striking seasonal transformation and fragrant spring flowers as for its fruit production.
Pick the berries when they are fully dark and have developed the sweetness characteristic of this variety, typically in mid to late summer. The ripe fruit should come away easily from the branch with gentle pressure, indicating peak maturity and sugar content.
Prune Missouri Giant Currant in late winter or early spring to maintain shape and encourage productive growth. Remove any dead or crossing branches to open up the canopy and improve air circulation. Light shaping will help maintain a neat hedge form if you're using it as an edible border, but avoid heavy cutting that removes next season's flowering wood.
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