Red Flowering Currant is a perennial grown for its red blooms, which open in late spring and return year after year. It's hardy across USDA zones 6 through 8. Its late spring flowers are a real draw for honeybees, native bees, and hummingbirds.
Red Flowering Currant — the short answer
Red Flowering Currant: grown in zones 6–8, full sun, pH 5.5–8.
- USDA zones
- 6–8
- Hardy to zone 6a — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
- Soil pH
- 5.5–8
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temp (growing season)
- 32°F
- FAO ECOCROP
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
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Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether red flowering currant actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score red flowering currant against your land's real conditions.
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What Red Flowering Currant is
Red Flowering Currant grows as a perennial. It blooms red in late spring.
How to grow Red Flowering Currant
Red Flowering Currant grows in USDA zones 6 through 8. Red Flowering Currant does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 8, on well-drained ground.
USDA Zones
6-8
Rated hardy to zone 6a by NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: not verified.
Soil pH
5.5 - 8
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
32°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
FAO ECOCROP
Minimum Growing Temperature
41°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Start the season right
Plant red flowering currant in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Red Flowering Currant prefers pH 5.5 to 8 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at its peak
Cut red flowering currant blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.
Where Red Flowering Currant thrives
Red Flowering Currant is hardy across USDA zones 6 through 8. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 6–8 spans average winter lows from -10°F to 20°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 9 outright and splits 39 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 6–8·Where Red Flowering Currant growsOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Red Flowering Currant stands, state by state
Red Flowering Currant is rated for zones 6–8 — a cold floor USDA puts at -10 to 0°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 9 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 39 more, and 3 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 6–8
9 states
- Arkansas · zones 6b-8b
- Connecticut · zones 6a-7b
- Kentucky · zones 6a-7b
3 of 9 shown
The line runs through
39 states
3 of 39 shown
Red Flowering Currant’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
Outside zones 6–8
3 states
- Minnesota · zones 3a-5a
- North Dakota · zones 3b-4b
- South Dakota · zones 4a-5b
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant often works in a container that comes under cover. Each link is that state’s own growing hub.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Red Flowering Currant
Growing guides for red flowering currant
Good to know
Red Flowering Currant is a standout pollinator plant — high value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Your land is one point inside Red Flowering Currant's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Red Flowering Currant will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether red flowering currant actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Red Flowering Currant
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Red Flowering Currant in my zone?
Red Flowering Currant grows in USDA hardiness zones 6 through 8 (Rated hardy to zone 6a by NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, checked Oct 2026. Ceiling: not verified.). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Red Flowering Currant?
Red Flowering Currant is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Red Flowering Currant need?
Red Flowering Currant needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Red Flowering Currant need?
Red Flowering Currant prefers soil pH 5.5 to 8, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Red Flowering Currant attract pollinators?
Yes — red flowering currant's flowers are a strong nectar and pollen source for honeybees, native bees, and hummingbirds. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Keep exploring Red Flowering Currant
Red Flowering Currant state by state
Every state red flowering currant's zone reaches — 32 link straight to that state's red flowering currant growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.