Carried by 28 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
Golden currant is a small to medium-sized deciduous shrub with golden spring blooms. The flowers and fruit of this fragrant and attractive shrub make the golden currant a valuable wildlife plant. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees are attracted to the golden yellow trumpet-shaped flowers. The fruit is an important food source for many bird species as well as small mammals like squirrels and chipmunks. The berries are also used in pies, preserves, and other dishes.
Golden currant is very easy to grow and spreads readily, making it a good choice for revegetation, hedging, and groundcover applications. It grows best in moist conditions and benefits from partial shade, irrigation, and mulching in drier areas. On the coast, it prefers full sun. Inland, it prefers part shade and does best when surrounded by mulch, and grows well under oaks and in mixed chaparral. Once established, golden currant needs no special care.
Shrub
3 - 10 ft Tall
3 - 10 ft Wide
Fountain, Spreading, Upright
Fast, Moderate
Winter Deciduous
Pleasant, Slight
Cream, Red, Yellow
Spring, Winter
Groundcover, Deer resistant
Full Sun, Partial Shade
Low, Very Low
Max 2x / month once established
Easy
Tolerates cold to 0 - 30° F
Medium, Slow
Tolerates a variety of soils.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0
Remove unwanted suckers to contain spread
Seeds, cuttiings, layering or division (suckers). For propagating by seed: 2.5-3 mos. stratification. Alternative treatments: moisten seeds with 0.2% KN03 and stratif y 2 wks.; or soak in 0.3% thiourea 40 mins., rinse under running water and sow (Stidham et al. 1980).
Found in a variety of settings and habitats most often slope bottoms, creek sides, bottoms of slopes adjacent to wetland-riparian. Also found in drier settings such as sagebrush scrub, woodlands (oak, juniper, pine), or at higher elevations in fir or pine forest
Foothill Woodland, Lodgepole Forest, Northern Juniper Woodland, Red Fir Forest, Sagebrush Scrub, Southern Oak Woodland, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian
Use with other woodland plants such as Oaks (Quercus spp.), Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus), Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii), Western Spice Bush (Calycanthus occidentalis), Creek Dogwood (Cornus sericea), Creeping Snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis), Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), Meadow Rue (Thalictrum fendleri), Snowdrop Bush (Styrax redivivus), Yellow Monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata), Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale), and Huckleberry (Vaccinum ovatum).
Butterflies and moths supported
1 confirmed and 83 likely
Western Tent Caterpillar
Malacosoma californica
Milbert's Tortoiseshell
Aglais milberti