Ken Roth

Titania Black Currant

Staff Favourite!

Zack's favourite! Zack has this to say on Titania: “These yummy orchard snacks are an acquired taste, like coffee or red wine, that builds over multiple seasons. If eating them fresh isn't for you, even those whose palates pick up notes of ‘feline urine’ (a staff joke at the nursery) on the fresh berries are quite fond of the jams and preserves that can be made from them.”

All staff favourites are offered at 20% the regular retail price. This discount cannot be combined with other quantity discounts and they will receive normal wholesale pricing should they be purchased wholesale.

Species: Ribes nigrum

History: Titania black currant was developed by Pal Tamas in Sweden. It was bred as a cross between the varieties Consort, Kayaanin Musta, and Altaskaya Dessertnaya in 1969 and chosen for further evaluation in 1974. Since its release it has become one of the most popular currants in North America.

Why We Grow It: It is easy to see why Titania has become so popular. It produces large, juicy berries with a rich, mild flavour. It is also resistant to White Pine Blister Rust and mildew. The berries are great for a variety of uses, such as the black currant scones and black currant and blueberry tarts Steph made (see pictures)!

Fruit Specs

Recommended Use: Fresh eating, juice, cooking, baking

Fruit Size: Large

Storage: Keeps up to two weeks when stored in the fridge

Harvest: July - Early

Growing Specs

Canadian Hardiness Zone: 3

Soil Preference: Loam, prefers well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter

Flowering Time:

Bloom Colour: Reddish-green

Pollination Requirements: Self-pollinating, this variety will produce fruit without a different black currant variety but will produce more and better fruit if one is present

Sun/Shade Requirements:

Prefers full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily) but will tolerate some shade

General Growth Habits:

Bush reaches up to 2m tall, vigorous with an upright and spreading growth habit, takes one to two years to produce fruit. Resistant to White Pine Blister Rust and mildew.

Shipping vs. Pick Up

CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.

Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.

Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.

Size at Purchase

Titania currants are divided into the following grades:

-1 year plant - 25-65cm

There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.

All of these heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).

Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.

Why plant small? It's best to transplant when a plant is young so it can establish its roots before it has a lot of vegetative growth. This is much less stressful on it and bareroot plants tend to catch up and even surpass larger potted ones planted at the same time, after a few years.

Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the plants are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.