‘Oregon Snowflake’ Flowering Currant

Abstract

Flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum Pursh.), also known as winter currant, is native to the West Coast of the United States, primarily west of the Coast Range from southern California north to British Columbia with populations also occurring in Idaho. The species is prized for its early spring flowers in pendulous racemes of 7 to 10 cm in colors including white, pink, and rose red. Improved cultivars have been selected primarily based on floral traits. These include White Icicle (= ‘Ubric’) with profuse white flowers on a shrub that reaches 2.5 m high and 1.8 m wide. ‘Pokey’s Pink’ and ‘King Edward VII’ are grown for their clear pink and red flowers, respectively. The growth habit of the species and most of its cultivars is larger than desired and the plants tend to become leggy and exhibit an overall poor form. ‘Oregon Snowflake’ was developed at Oregon State University (OSU) and released by the Oregon Agriculture Experiment Station for its improved plant habit, which is mounding and semidwarf as well as its unique leaf shape.