Habitat

• 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.