New Zealand low-chill currants?

Most varieties of currant need at least 800 hours of chill to bear fruit; the usual figure I see on line is 800-1600 hours. A little Googling turns up mentions of a breeding program in New Zealand that's aimed at producing low-chill varieties suitable for most of that country; I get the impression that there are already some sucesses and new cultivars available.

I'd like to try blackcurrant here in North Florida but I rarely get even 600 hours of chill. Mostly that's a good thing... Anyone know whether low-chill varieties are available in the USA?

Mark., yes, this is a very long shot

I'd give those a try. Don't think you'll get an answer but who knows?

Why not experiment...the bushes might acclimate after a year or two and manage to fruit. Here's some good cultural info:

http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/currants.html

And if ever you have a chance to visit New Zealand, do it! A most beautiful place.

Editing to add: Although most references say to grow currants in zones 3 thru 5, I remember the row of currant bushes my Dad planted on our farm in southern Oklahoma that produced so abundantly...zone 7b.

Yuska

This message was edited Feb 14, 2007 10:28 AM

Well, some sources claim that they can take zone 7 no trouble, even 8. The problem seems to be chill hours. Apparently the Pacific Northwest gets enough that even zone 8 or 9 there provides enough chill to ensure fruiting. North Florida rarely does... well, not my part of it.

I might try some assorted varieties if I can get them on the cheap. Maybe some will survive and produce. I'll keep trying to get the New Zealand ones.

Quite by coincidence, while looking for something else, I came across a book I hadn't perused in quite a while. It's titled Uncommon Fruits Worthy of Attention, written by Lee Reich. Published in 1991 it doesn't have too much on new varieties, but the chapter on black currants (another chapter on red and white ones) is quite extensive. One factor it cautions about is excessive heat. The chill hours are on the low side here, too, but my experience with the related jostaberry (also medlar) came to a pitiful end when the plant conked out after trying to endure the second August.

Please let us know if you find a source for the New Zealand varieties. With so many experiments that didn't pan out, I'm still not cured of taking risks. Yuska

The Scottish Crops Research Institute is also breeding blackcurrant for low chill. I don't know if they have any varieties yet, and I'm (the original word was flagged for not being family-friendly, sheesh, started with a D) if I know HOW one breeds for low chill.

Another odd find: there is a species of gooseberry native to a few small areas scattered from South Carolina to the Florida Panhandle. The fruit is prickly and I don't know if it's worth eating, but the Ribes germplasm people have the plant as well now; I suppose that someone could breed a low-chill gooseberry from that.

Just ordered some fruiting trees and shrubs including a few blackcurrants that will probably die horribly within a few months. The elderberries likely have a better chance.