Do different currant species pollinate each other?

We just bought a "Crandall" clove black current (Ribes odoratum). I'm reading really different things about their pollination. Some say they are self-fertile, some sites say they do better with a pollinator, and some say they need a pollinator to produce fruit. It seems like a good idea to get another pollinator, but what? All the clove currants at the store were Crandall variety (which are all clones). Do I need another clove currant, would another Crandall variety work, or can I use another type of currant for pollination? I have stink currant (Ribes bracteosum) growing on my property. Would that work?

Also, how close does the pollinator need to be?

Thank you for any and all help!

I grow quite a lot of currents and am just getting into growing Jostaberrys and have never had any issues with polonisation . But then I have about thirty plants and four or five different types . Blackcurrents are so easy to grow it baffles me why they are not more popular . I intend to stop when I have fifty .
I feel it unlikey that your other species could hybridize but if the do it could be an interesting offspring:-) and a possible new berry to grow .

David

I was listening through the back catalog of You Bet Your Garden last weekend, and the host said that European black currants are self-fertile, while American black currants (clove currants) need a second plant for pollination. I don't think he mentioned anything about cross-pollination between different types of currants.

I imagine that if they need a second plant then a clone wouldn't work, but I really don't know much about this subject. We haven't had pollination issues but we have a bunch of different native and domesticated currants.

Clones wouldnt work as they are the same plant If the plant is not self fertile

Supposedly, the Crandall clove currant is self-fertile, but most sources I read about non-Crandall currants say they are not self-fertile. Is that even possible? Can a non-self-fertile species have a fertile variety?

I also wonder, since there are things like jostaberries (which are a cross between gooseberries and currants), as well as some crosses of the European currants with other species of currants, would my Crandall clove currant be able to be pollinated by a my native stink currant. I have no desire to make new species of currants (especially not ones crossed with stink currant!), I just want my clove currant to make me berries!

Also, how close would they need to be for pollination? Even reading various university publications on growing currants, I see nothing about spacing, probably because currants are relatively new to mass-production, and the focus is on the species that don't require pollinators. I currently have stink currants about 100 yards away from my clove currant. Should I transplant one closer? If so, how close does it need to be? Would 20 or 30 feet be close enough?

i planted a clove currant ''crandall'' last spring and i was under the impression it was self fertile also. have 2 ''  consort''  black currants also curious if they will cross pollinate each other. if not i may need to get another american blackcurrant?

Well, I never got another American currant, and this year got a Consort European currant. I got some berries on my one Crandall American currant. Either the Crandall is self-fertile or the Consort european or our native Stink currant pollinated it.

I say see what happens with your Crandall. It'll probably produce next year. If it blooms but doesn't produce, buy another American currant bush next year. But, I'm figuring that it will produce. It might make more berries if there's another American currant one to cross pollinate (mine didn't produce that much this year, but my bush also looks kind of sad, so that probably didn't help...)  

I have an American Great Plains currant and only one. It gets fruit every year, so with all of my other Euro black currants, I think the Euros must pollinate the Americans.
JOhn S
PDX OR

Pollination can seem like a tricky thing when you start reading all the viewpoints published here and there.

The only time you will get no fruit from any tree or bush is when there are separate sexes (dioecious species), most fruit trees flowers have both stamen and pistel in one flower which makes it self fruiting since pollen is present, some need a pollinator because the pollen is lower in the flower and thus needs to move upward to do its job.

Having more than one specimen allows for bees or other pollinators to gather more pollen and nectar, which allows for a better fruit crop than having just one specimen, this is why apple trees are usually planted with a second species.
I have Arkansas Black apple trees, the single crossing variety we planted died so the only trees we have are Arkansas Black, but there are several of them so they do cross pollinate just within the variety.

The same can be observed with peaches, plums, pears, etc. Even blue berries will function within their species, you just need a grouping of them, this also can be observed with huckleberries.

In the reality of either homesteading and canning, along with fruit production for sale, you seldom see farms with only one or two trees of any species, they want quantity along with quality so they have orchards of various sizes, depending on the desired quantity of fruit.

Redhawk

It's not a rule, but generally, plants and animals in the same genus can cross polinate and produce fertile offspring. sometimes those of the same family can also cross even if the genus is different, but usually their offspring are infertile, a mule for example.

Nicole Alderman wrote:Well, I never got another American currant, and this year got a Consort European currant. I got some berries on my one Crandall American currant. Either the Crandall is self-fertile or the Consort european or our native Stink currant pollinated it.

I say see what happens with your Crandall. It'll probably produce next year. If it blooms but doesn't produce, buy another American currant bush next year. But, I'm figuring that it will produce. It might make more berries if there's another American currant one to cross pollinate (mine didn't produce that much this year, but my bush also looks kind of sad, so that probably didn't help...)  

i planted the crandall early this spring and it did produce 5 flowers but didn't set fruit. could be its still too young tho. my consorts flowered at the same time. should see next year for sure.

well i just ordered 3 golden clove currants (Ribes Aureum) from a colorado vendor on amazon. my Crandall is R. Odoratum. I've read that Crandalls are self fertile but goldens have male and female plants. there is a lot of confusion as to what plant is which as crandells are sometimes considered a cultivar of  goldens. both species are western Ribes species. all currants have to be pollinated by bees so i would think cross pollination most definitely happens between subspecies.  i also got 3 wild Ribes Americanum starts, from vermont, i traded for, which are also self fertile and a eastern black currant. we'll see what happens next summer.

i just put in a alpine europen red currant and a perfection red currant in between my crandal and golden currant. the alpine needs a male and female plant to produce berries. hopefully its a female as the perfection is self fertile and can pollinate it.

a update. my tiny  12in. tall crandall has about 50 green berries on it! it bloomed so heavily it looked all yellow and smelled great! had to brace the branches as they are starting to sag under the weight of the fruit.  flowered about a week after my consorts. put in 6 golden currants from 2 different nurseries. 3 were about 12in tall the other 3 were 2ft. both are growing well. one says it produces a red berry.  it won't be long before im up to my ears in currants!

Pollination requirements of eight cultivars of black currant (Ribes nigrum L.)
Z. Koltowski,S. Pluta,B. Jablonski &K. Szklanowska
Pages 472-474

Summary
Fruit set and yield of the following cultivars of black currant (Ribes nigrum L.): `Ben Alder', `Ben Lomond', `Ben Nevis', `Ben Tirran', `Ceres', `Ojebyn', `Titania' and `Triton' were investigated in 1994±1996. Percentage fruit set, size of berries and yield of all investigated cultivars were higher when much foraging activity of pollinating insects was observed. The bushes on open-pollinated plots set more fruit (50-200%), had bigger fruits (10±20%) and gave higher yields (60±300%) than plants isolated from insects. All eight cultivars, including `Titania', had lower fruit set when pollinated with their own pollen under nets than when subjected to free pollination in open plots.