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If you can turn on a tap, you can look after it 💦
Family: Grossulariaceae · Pot diameter: 13cm · organically grown · Height: approximately 30cm
Ribes rubrum ‘Jonkheer van Tets’ opens the redcurrant season with long gleaming strings and lively refreshing flavour. Large red berries ripen early, cut easily in whole clusters and transform desserts, jellies and summer bowls. The strong upright bush fills quickly, remains productive with simple renewal and brings the timeless look of a classic European fruit garden.
Because it flowers early, plant it away from frost pockets and cover the blossom temporarily if a late frost is forecast.
‘Jonkheer van Tets’ remains a benchmark for very early picking, long strings and vigorous growth.
Fruit ripens from late June, bringing vivid red colour earlier than many other cultivars.
Berries are spaced along elongated stalks that cut and present beautifully as complete clusters.
Upright stems quickly form a productive bush or a clean wire-trained row.
Why you will love it: It is the choice for anyone wanting classic redcurrant flavour and a basket that fills before the main summer harvest begins.
Give it sun to bright partial shade and 1.2–1.5m from other shrubs. Avoid low enclosed spots where cold air settles in spring.
Cool-shade spring plants frame the early blossom and recede visually as the strings turn red.
Sun to partial shade; avoid fierce reflected heat.
Deep watering when the surface dries, especially while berries fill.
Very hardy in winter; its very early flowers are the sensitive stage during late spring frost.
Wash fully ripe fruit before eating.
Plant in fertile, humus-rich soil that holds even moisture without waterlogging. An organic mulch over the outer root zone keeps the soil cool.
Water deeply when the surface dries, with particular consistency from flowering until the berries fill. Avoid both prolonged drought and permanently saturated soil.
Keep 8–10 upright stems as a bush or tie three main arms to two wires for a narrow row.
In early spring add mature compost and a balanced fruit-shrub feed according to its label. Stop nitrogen-rich applications early in summer.
In regions with very hot summers choose morning sun and afternoon shade. A lasting mulch and deep watering protect the shallow roots.
Thin a crowded centre, remove low branches and cover blossom with light fabric only on nights when frost is forecast.
It is self-fertile and crops alone. A second early redcurrant provides more pollen when weather restricts insects.
Harvest usually starts from late June and continues into early July.
Wait until the whole string turns bright red. Snip the central stalk with small scissors without squeezing the berries.
Place taut netting over a frame as colouring begins and leave clear access for frequent picking.
After planting: water deeply, retain a few strong upright stems and let the first fruiting laterals form without hard shortening.
Late winter, before very early bud break
‘Jonkheer van Tets’ fruits mainly on short laterals carried by one- to three-year-old wood. Prune early, retain vigorous middle-aged wood and gradually renew old stems without removing the stout fruiting spurs.
Action: Choose 5–6 upright basal stems and remove only very thin, broken or inward competitors.
Retain: Keep natural length so short laterals can form.
Action: Remove crossing branches and shorten only overlong non-fruiting laterals above an outward bud. Leave short swollen spurs intact.
Retain: Keep 8–10 well-lit stems aged one to three years.
Action: Cut 1–2 of the darkest ageing stems at ground level and retain the same number of strong new replacements.
Retain: Keep an open centre and ample middle-aged wood for early strings.
Use sharp, clean tools suited to the diameter of the wood.
Remove only broken or very low laterals. Remaining foliage ripens the buds for next spring.
Do not do this: Do not delay major pruning until early buds open, and do not cut the short stout fruiting spurs.
Strong green shoots quickly build a tall narrow framework.
Short laterals open greenish flowers before foliage becomes fully dense.
Strings hang beneath the leaves and colour almost together in early summer.
Upright main stems carry short side shoots and fruiting spurs. Long red fruit strings hang between lobed leaves within a relatively open crown.
Its early start is the key advantage and the reason frost pockets should be avoided.
What to expect after planting: Strong green shoots quickly build a tall narrow framework.
‘Jonkheer van Tets’ was created at Schellinkhout in North Holland by grower Jurie Maarse. In 1931 he singled out an exceptional seedling descended from the American cultivar ‘Fay’s Prolific’.
The new plant stood out because it flowered and ripened earlier without losing berry size or bright-red colour. Long strings and vigorous upright growth made the selection especially practical for the early Dutch market.
After several years of observation the cultivar entered commerce in 1941 as ‘Jonkheer van Tets’. Its aristocratic Dutch name became associated with earliness, and the cultivar spread across Europe as a classic benchmark.
Buds complete their chilling requirement quickly and respond to the first mild temperatures. The same physiology that gives an early harvest exposes flowers to late frost.
Flower buds are concentrated on short laterals carried by one- to three-year-old wood. Gradual renewal maintains this zone without removing all mature wood.
Six practical answers for choosing, growing, harvesting and pruning this exact cultivar.
No. It is self-fertile, while another early redcurrant may enhance fruit set.
Approximately 1.5–1.8m high and 1.2–1.5m wide as a vigorous upright bush.
Yes, in a large deep container with even watering and protection of early blossom from late frost.
From late June into early July, when whole strings turn bright red.
It flowers very early. Temporarily cover open blossom only when night frost is forecast.
In late winter before its very early buds open, gradually removing old wood.
