Ribes malvaceum is the princess of the coming Spring reminding us that bare branches and brown clumps of plants will soon become a bounty of flowers buzzing with activity. She sleeps through late Summer and into Autumn, budding leaves as the rains arrive and sending these long pendulous flower clusters just after we've been surprised by the leaves' abrupt appearance. And then the flowers open. . . Sigh. Such a lovely flash of pink when all else can look so dreary this time of year. Ribes malvaceum (or its cousin, Ribes sanguineum) is available in a few varieties, ranging from White Icicle (sanguineum) to Barrie Coates (malvaceum), a deep crimson which I just spied at the nursery today and cursed the more prepared gardener who had put them all on hold. Darn! I love this pink version, however.
ack, overexposed photo!
Sun: partial shade to sun near the Bay (or coast), partial to full shade farther in.
Soil: I think you can stretch it a bit- Las Pilitas mentions planting a sanguineum in sand and another in clay with relative success. But they're pretty good at this stuff. I'd go with a good combo of the two and call it a day. Although, I won't tell if you fudge it a bit.
Plant: after the heat of Summer and before the rains in Winter is best.
Buy it: your local nursery can order it if you like, but Las Pilitas' Santa Margarita store has a few in stock or you could try California Flora Nursery, who looks like has a ton of yummy varieties to sample.
Good for: bird gardens, a bright bit of Spring for us impatient gardeners, shady places, cottage gardens
