Redcurrant Laxton's Number One (Ribes rubrum 'Laxton's Number One')

Experience the excellence of Britain's most cherished redcurrant heritage with Laxton's Number One, the century-old English variety that combines exceptional mildew resistance with outstanding flavour and the remarkable advantage of late flowering for frost protection, delivering generous crops of glossy scarlet berries with unmatched reliability and traditional garden charm.

Overview

Discover the enduring appeal that has made Laxton's Number One Britain's most widely grown redcurrant variety for over a century, combining traditional heritage excellence with modern garden reliability. This exceptional English variety produces generous crops of small but intensely flavoursome scarlet berries that ripen from July, offering the perfect balance of traditional taste and contemporary garden performance. As a late-flowering variety, Laxton's Number One provides natural protection against late spring frosts that can devastate other varieties, ensuring reliable cropping year after year. The variety's outstanding mildew resistance and vigorous growth characteristics make it perfect for organic growing methods whilst maintaining exceptional productivity and fruit quality. With its proven track record spanning generations of British gardeners, this remarkable cultivar represents the pinnacle of traditional redcurrant breeding, offering modern gardeners the opportunity to grow premium heritage fruit with guaranteed success and authentic flavour that connects today's harvest with centuries of British horticultural excellence.

Key Features

• Plant Type: Deciduous fruiting shrub (redcurrant)
• Planting Season: November to March (dormant season)
• Mature Height: 1.2m
• Spread: 1.2m
• Fruiting Period: July to August
• Berry Characteristics: Small, glossy scarlet berries with intense flavour
• Flavour Profile: Traditional redcurrant taste with excellent intensity
• Productive Lifespan: 15-20 years with proper care
• Hardiness: Hardy in the UK down to temperatures of -15 to -20 degrees Celcius (RHS hardiness rating H6)

Heritage English Excellence

Represents over a century of proven British garden performance, originating in 1925 England and remaining the most widely grown redcurrant variety throughout the UK. This remarkable longevity validates Laxton's Number One as a variety of exceptional merit, tested and proven across generations of British gardeners seeking reliable excellence.

Superior Mildew Resistance

Features outstanding resistance to mildew, the most problematic disease affecting redcurrants, ensuring healthy growth and consistent productivity without chemical interventions. This exceptional disease resistance makes Laxton's Number One perfect for organic growing methods and low-maintenance garden management.

Frost Protection Advantage

Benefits from late flowering characteristics that provide natural protection against damaging late spring frosts that can devastate early-flowering varieties. This built-in frost protection ensures reliable cropping even in challenging seasons, making it perfect for gardeners in frost-prone locations.

Exceptional Cropping Reliability

Delivers consistently generous crops year after year, earning its reputation as a reliable cropper in all districts across Britain. The dependable productivity makes Laxton's Number One particularly valuable for gardeners seeking guaranteed harvests and maximum return from their fruit growing investment.

Premium Fresh Eating Quality

Produces small but intensely flavoursome berries that are particularly renowned for fresh eating applications, with traditional redcurrant taste that perfectly balances sweetness and tartness. The excellent flavour intensity makes these berries perfect for immediate enjoyment straight from the bush.

Outstanding Garden Adaptability

Demonstrates vigorous, strong growth that adapts well to various British growing conditions, thriving in both sunny and partially shaded positions whilst maintaining excellent productivity. This adaptability ensures success across diverse garden situations and soil types.

Extended Harvest Convenience

Features long bunches of berries that ripen progressively, allowing for extended harvest periods and making picking more convenient and enjoyable. The long strigs of fruit provide efficient harvesting whilst ensuring premium quality berries throughout the season.

Traditional Culinary Excellence

Perfect for all traditional culinary applications including preserves, jellies, and baking, with authentic redcurrant flavour that creates superior results in classic British recipes. The intense flavour and excellent texture make these berries ideal for both sweet and savoury applications.

Ideal Growing Position

Thrives in full sun to partial shade, preferring a sheltered position protected from cold winds and late spring frosts. Plant in slightly acidic, moist but well-drained fertile soil, with the variety showing excellent tolerance for north-facing walls and less favourable garden positions.

Professional Framework Management

Benefits from establishing a framework of 8-10 main branches through careful pruning, with fruit produced on previous year's growth and older shoots. The vigorous growth habit responds well to structured training, ensuring optimal productivity and garden management.

Self-Fertile Convenience

Self-fertile characteristics ensure productive harvests from single plantings, making Laxton's Number One perfect for smaller gardens where space limitations prevent multiple variety plantings. This convenience factor enhances appeal for gardeners seeking maximum productivity from minimal space investment.

Seasonal Interest Calendar

• Spring: Fresh green foliage emergence with attractive serrated leaf structure

• Late Spring: Late-flowering clusters providing natural frost protection and extended pollination period

• Early Summer: Development of long strigs of developing berries creating anticipation

• Mid Summer: Spectacular harvest of glossy scarlet berries from July onwards

• Autumn: Attractive autumn foliage colour adding seasonal garden interest

• Winter: Dormant framework structure ready for annual pruning cycle

Organic Growing Excellence

The exceptional mildew resistance and vigorous growth make Laxton's Number One perfect for organic growing methods, with natural disease resistance reducing chemical intervention needs whilst maintaining outstanding productivity and traditional fruit quality throughout the growing season.

Heritage and Tradition

Represents the finest achievements in traditional English redcurrant breeding, combining century-proven reliability with authentic flavour characteristics that connect modern gardeners with generations of British horticultural heritage and time-tested garden excellence.

Growing Success Tips

Success with Redcurrant Laxton's Number One centres on selecting a sheltered position with well-drained, fertile soil and ensuring adequate spacing of 1.5 metres between plants for optimal air circulation and disease prevention. Plant during the dormant season between November and March, preparing the soil with generous organic matter incorporation and ensuring good drainage to prevent waterlogging. Establish a framework of 8-10 main branches through careful pruning, cutting back main branches by one-half after planting to encourage strong structure development. Take advantage of the late flowering by positioning plants where morning sun can benefit flower development whilst providing afternoon shade protection, and harvest the intensely flavoured berries when fully coloured for optimal traditional taste. Maintain consistent moisture during the growing season, particularly during fruit development, and apply annual mulching with well-rotted compost to retain soil moisture and suppress weeds. Your Laxton's Number One will demonstrate that century-proven English heritage delivers exceptional modern garden performance, combining traditional reliability with outstanding fruit quality that transforms ordinary kitchen gardens into productive heritage fruit havens for gardeners who appreciate both authenticity and excellence in their edible landscapes.