When to plant Currant
Computed from land-grant Extension planting-window rules (cited below), localized to real ZIP-level median frost dates, not a single national guess. These are national-generic rules by hardiness class; individual state Extension offices layer their own regional adjustment on top (earlier in the Deep South, later in the Upper Midwest). Enter your ZIP for your own dates, or read the four representative locations below.
Planting windows and crop timing here are computed from USDA/NOAA climate data and the university extension sources cited below, not a site visit or soil test. Treat this as a starting point: local conditions vary, and a local nursery or extension office can advise on your exact site. See our full Disclaimer.
Representative timing, by climate band
When to plant Currant in four US climates
Each column is the most nursery-dense location in our directory within that USDA zone band, computed from that location's own real median frost dates, not a made-up example.
| Stage |
Zones 1-5 (cold winters)
Fort Plain, NY |
Zones 6-7 (temperate)
McMinnville, TN |
Zones 8-9 (warm)
Apopka, FL |
Zones 10-13 (hot, frost rare or absent)
Loxahatchee, FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start seed indoors | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Direct-sow outside | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Transplant outside | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Fall planting | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
| Expected harvest | Not available | Not available | Not available | – |
Zones 10-13 (hot, frost rare or absent) (Loxahatchee, FL): Frost is rare here (about 359 frost-free days a year); most years see little or no hard freeze. This is a hardy crop. In climates like this one, hardy and semi-hardy crops typically go in during the cooler months (fall through late winter), not on a frost-relative schedule.
Currant is planted dormant, in fall or early spring, not on a frost-week schedule. Penn State Extension instructs planting "well-rooted, 1- or 2-year-old dormant plants" in either season, cut back to six to ten inches at planting (Home Fruit Plantings: Gooseberries and Currants).
Sources disagree on how cold-hardy currant actually is. Penn State states it tolerates -22 to -31°F; Michigan State University Extension's small-fruit tip sheet gives a narrower figure, USDA zones 3 through 5, with most cultivars tolerating -15°F. Both agree on the fall-or-early-spring dormant planting window itself; only the cold-hardiness ceiling differs, and this page publishes both rather than averaging them into one number neither source printed.
Currant is sold as dormant bare-root stock, one or two years old, for that fall-or-spring window. Michigan State puts first harvest two to three years after planting.
Frost hardiness
Hardy. Tolerates hard frost. Can go in the ground before the last frost date.
Sourcing notes
Penn State Extension: "In fall or early spring, plant well-rooted, 1- or 2-year-old dormant plants," cut back to 6-10 in. at planting; very cold-hardy, tolerating -22 to -31F. MSU Extension small-fruit tip sheet gives a narrower/lower figure ("Zones 3-5, most cultivars tolerate -15F"); both sources agree on the fall-or-early-spring dormant-planting window. MSU: 2-3 years to first harvest.
Related crops
Growing zones for this crop
Nurseries near these locations
Sources
- Michigan State University Extension, Considerations for growing backyard small fruit (accessed 2026-08-04)
- Penn State Extension, Home Fruit Plantings: Gooseberries and Currants (accessed 2026-08-04)