Description
Ribes rubrum 'Jonkheer van Tets' Standard | Red currant
The redcurrant screen is a screen-form red currant, Ribes rubrum 'Jonkheer van Tets', with an outline that gives a garden a clear sense of structure. Its presentation as a screen distinguishes it from the cultivar’s naturally upright, bushy growth habit, without changing the character of this fruit-bearing shrub. At maturity, it reaches around 150 cm tall. Green foliage provides the main leafy feature, while green to yellow-green flowers appear in spring. The cultivar is self-fertile and produces an abundant, early crop, making it a useful choice when you want a fruiting plant with a defined presence in the garden. It is deciduous, so it does not keep its leaves throughout the year. This seasonal change is worth considering when choosing where the screen will sit and how it will relate to nearby planting. The screen-like form can help mark out an area while retaining the appearance of a redcurrant. For more plants in the same genus, see Ribes.
Key features of red currant (Ribes rubrum 'Jonkheer van Tets') in screen form
- Flowers and foliage: Green to yellow-green flowers appear in April and May. They are a seasonal feature rather than a showy display. The leaves are green, and the shrub is deciduous.
- Position: Choose a position in full sun or partial shade in a UK garden. These are the stated position options for this redcurrant, so consider which receives the best available light in your space.
- Soil: This plant prefers rich, humus-rich soil that retains moisture while draining well. Good drainage matters alongside moisture retention; the soil should not be treated as either dry or poorly drained.
- Growth and form: The cultivar’s natural habit is upright and bushy. Supplied in screen form, it brings that fruit-bearing shrub character into a screen-like garden outline. Mature height is around 150 cm.
- Fruit and garden interest: ‘Jonkheer van Tets’ is self-fertile and gives an abundant, early crop. Birds are known to eat the berries. It is listed among fruit plants, and its green foliage and spring flowers add further seasonal interest.
Uses of a redcurrant screen in the garden
- Fruit and kitchen gardens: The screen form can bring a defined outline to a fruit garden or kitchen garden. It combines the role of a fruit-bearing shrub with a more screen-like visual presence, helping the plant contribute to the layout as well as to the seasonal character of the garden.
- Specimen or hedge use: The supplied uses also include specimen and hedge planting. As a specimen, its screen-like presentation can give it a clear individual place. In a hedge, it can contribute structure, but the information does not specify spacing or suitability for every hedge.
- Seasonal appearance: Green foliage is the main leafy feature, with green to yellow-green flowers in April and May. Because the shrub is deciduous, its leaves do not remain throughout the year. The screen form gives the plant a distinct outline without implying a particular level of density or privacy.
- Hardiness: The product data gives hardiness figures of -29°C / -23°C and USDA zone 5. These figures describe the stated hardiness information; they are not a guarantee of performance in every UK garden or in all local conditions.
- Position and character: Full sun or partial shade are listed as suitable positions. Its upright, bushy natural habit and screen-form presentation make it a structural choice that retains the character of a fruit-bearing redcurrant.
With its defined screen-like outline, green foliage and early crop, ‘Jonkheer van Tets’ offers a distinctive structural choice for a fruit or kitchen garden.
