Ribes nigrum 'Katyusha' (mid/late-season)

Katyusha Black Currant (Ribes nigrum ‘Katyusha’) is a highly productive cultivar distinguished by its especially long fruit clusters bearing beautiful, glossy black berries with a very firm skin. Each berry is rounded to slightly oblong and weighs approximately 1.4 g. The flesh is exceptionally juicy and has a higher sugar content than most other currants, while still delivering the classic sweet-tart flavour expected of black currants. Rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, black currants are among the most nutritious and flavourful small fruits. These lustrous berries are excellent for fresh eating, juicing, baking, and are prized for preserves.

The fruit clusters of Katyusha Black Currant remain on the plant longer without rotting than those of other varieties and store well after harvest, giving this cultivar excellent transportability. Katyusha Black Currant bush is considered a mid-late season black currant variety. Berries ripen in late July, and on well-established plants, yields can reach up to 4.5 kg (10 lb). Katyusha Black Currant plant typically begins producing fruit in their second year and, once established, provide abundant harvests for 8–10 years. Birdwatchers will delight in observing their feathered friends drawn to the fruits.

Greenish-yellow flower clusters bloom in May and although not showy, will attract pollinators to your yard. Katyusha Black Currant plant is self-fertile. The leaves are green, serrated, and divided into five palmate lobes. This medium-sized shrub grows to approximately 1.5 m (5 ft) in height, and all parts of the plant are strongly aromatic. Fruit is borne primarily on one-year-old shoots; older, unproductive wood should be thinned regularly on established plants.

Extremely winter hardy to Zone 3a (-40 °C), Katyusha Black Currant bush is a cultivar originating from Belarus and exhibits some resistance to powdery mildew and anthracnose (leaf spot).