Description

The golden currant grows in our coastal and interior coastal mountains from Mendocino to Riverside Counties. It grows as an upright, rounded shrub with deeply lobed, shiny leaves. It looks more like a gooseberry than a currant, except that it lacks thorns. The bark is a reddish gray. Abundant bright yellow flowers appear in late winter and early spring, attracting hummingbirds and a variety of pollinators. The berries start out yellow and transition to red and then blue as they mature. They are said to be quite tasty. Birds at least seem to think so. The golden currant is adaptable to a variety of soil drainage and sun exposure. More shade is prudent the further inland the garden. Like all currants, the golden currant will lose its leaves sometime in the late fall or early winter, but these will quickly be replaced by new growth.