Ribes rubrum Hollande Blanche - White currant

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

The Currant bush, also known as Ribes rubrum, belongs to the Grossulariaceae family. It 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. 'White Dutch' is a bushy, non-thorny shrub with a clump-like habit of slightly stiff, branched branches, with soft wood and abundant pith. This bush reaches a height of 1.30 m (4 ft 4 in), with a width of 1 m (3 ft 4 in). 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 mainly occurs on one- and two-year-old branches. The bush is covered in numerous clusters of small round and translucent berries, initially green then white-pink, with a diameter of 6 mm (0.2 in), containing small seeds. The harvest takes place as the fruits ripen, starting from mid-July. The currants have a 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 are also a good source of vitamin C and fiber. The yield of this variety is good, around 6 kg per plant if the growing conditions are optimal. The root system is shallow.

Use fresh currants in jelly or pastry for tart fillings or to make sorbets. In the garden, this bush, modest for much of the year, becomes attractive when it is laden with its long clusters of translucent pearls that sparkle in the summer light. The pleasure is threefold, both visual and gustatory, but also olfactory when its warm foliage perfumes the garden. It pairs well with varieties with pink or red clusters, gooseberry bushes, as well as shrubs that offer a beautiful fruiting (not edible), such as Leycesteria formosa, beautyberries, Nandina domestica and its varieties, Japanese quinces, small-leaved Cotoneaster, Magical Beauty St. John's wort, symphorines...For small gardens or to save space, it is clever to train this 'White Dutch' currant bush against a wall or grow it 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 forty centimeters, although care should be taken not to water it with too much lime-rich water.

The wild currant bush Ribes rubrum has medicinal properties. It is used to treat rheumatism and infectious diseases, especially since the fruits are consumed fresh.