White currant Witte Hollander

Synonyms: 'White Dutch', `Weiße Holländer`, white Hollander.

White currant Witte Hollander (Ribes rubrum Witte Hollander) is a mid-late cultivar of red currant. Bred in the Netherlands.

It is a tall shrub 1.5-2 m high, with strong replacement shoots. Shoots are tall, covered with brown-colored bark.

Leaves are five-lobed, dark green, densely pubescent beneath, leathery. The middle lobe is elongated, the lateral ones are short and pointed. Leaf base is straight.

Berries are large, up to 8 mm in diameter, white-cream in color, with a pleasant sweet-tart flavor and aroma. The skin is firm. Bunches are large and attractive. Berries ripen in July. Yield is high, up to 8 kg per bush.

Hardiness zone: 4a (-34°C)

Position: prefers well-lit locations but can also grow in partial shade; moisture-loving but does not tolerate waterlogging or excessive wetness. Does not like heavy, clay soil; the groundwater level should not be higher than 75 cm below the soil surface. Not demanding regarding soil fertility; grows well in any garden soil. Prefers slightly acidic, well-drained sandy, light or medium-loam soils. The cultivar is resistant to drought and frosts.

Planting: planting is carried out in August. For this, beds or trenches are dug and bushes are planted at a distance of at least 1.3 m from each other (otherwise the bushes will shade each other and the berries will be small). The soil mix consists of earth and manure. After planting, in dry weather plants are watered at a rate of 1 bucket per bush.

Care: during the growing season additional feedings are carried out – in early spring nitrogen fertilizers are applied: ammonium nitrate (30 g per bush) or urea (20 g per bush); after flowering and at the beginning of fruit set – poultry manure (1:12) or cow manure (1:6), at a rate of 1-1.5 buckets per currant bush, and after harvest.

Pruning: trained to a standard stem. Requires thinning.

Propagation: propagated vegetatively (by division of the bush, grafting, green cuttings, vertical or horizontal layering) or by seeds. For vertical layering, bushes are severely pruned in spring almost to ground level; in July the young shoots are earthened up. In autumn the young shoots are planted in the nursery. To obtain horizontal layers, rooted shoots are left until the next spring, then bent down, earthened up and separated from the parent plant in autumn.

Diseases: resistant to fungal and bacterial damage.

Pests: gall aphid, yellow gooseberry sawfly, currant clearwing.

Usage: high yield, good transportability, excellent flavor qualities; berries are large and marketable, suitable for fresh use and processing. A valuable cultivar for commercial cultivation for berry processing.