Redcurrant Rolan (Ribes rubrum 'Rolan')

Experience the perfect balance of exceptional hardiness and outstanding productivity with Rolan, the vigorous mid-season variety that delivers heavy crops of large, shiny-red berries in convenient long strigs for effortless harvesting, combining modern breeding excellence with remarkable adaptability for guaranteed garden success across Britain's diverse growing conditions.

Overview

Discover the remarkable qualities that make Rolan one of the most recommended redcurrant varieties for modern British gardens, combining exceptional hardiness with outstanding yield quality and convenient harvesting characteristics. This superb mid-season variety produces heavy crops of large, grape-like bunches of delicious, shiny-red currants that ripen in July, offering the perfect balance of productivity and premium fruit quality. As a newer variety with improved breeding characteristics, Rolan delivers the exceptional advantage of densely branched, upright growth that maximises space efficiency whilst providing the vigorous performance that ensures reliable cropping year after year. The variety's remarkable hardiness makes it perfect for challenging British growing conditions, thriving in locations where other varieties might struggle whilst maintaining excellent fruit quality and yield consistency. With its user-friendly harvesting characteristics featuring long strigs of berries and upright growth habit, this exceptional cultivar combines practical garden management with premium fruit production, making it perfect for gardeners seeking maximum productivity with minimum maintenance requirements for guaranteed redcurrant success.

Key Features

• Plant Type: Deciduous fruiting shrub (redcurrant)
• Planting Season: November to March (dormant season)
• Mature Height: 1.5m
• Spread: 1.2m 
• Fruiting Period: July 
• Berry Characteristics: Large, shiny-red berries in long, convenient strigs
• Flavour Profile: Traditional redcurrant taste with good balance
• 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)

Exceptional Hardiness Performance

Renowned for outstanding hardiness that ensures reliable performance across diverse British growing conditions, from exposed northern gardens to challenging coastal locations. This exceptional cold tolerance makes Rolan perfect for gardeners in frost-prone areas seeking guaranteed cropping success.

Superior Productivity Excellence

Delivers consistently heavy crops of large berries that outperform many traditional varieties, ensuring abundant harvests year after year. The reliable, vigorous cropping nature makes Rolan particularly valuable for gardeners seeking maximum productivity and excellent return on investment.

Convenient Harvesting Advantage

Features long strigs of berries that allow for easy, efficient picking, making harvest time a pleasure rather than a chore. The convenient clustering of large berries on extended racemes ensures quick harvesting whilst maintaining premium fruit quality throughout the season.

Premium Fruit Quality

Produces large, grape-like bunches of delicious, shiny-red currants with excellent texture and traditional redcurrant flavour. The impressive berry size and attractive appearance make these fruits perfect for both fresh eating and premium culinary applications.

Vigorous Growth Characteristics

Demonstrates vigorous, densely branched growth with upright habit that maximises space efficiency whilst ensuring excellent air circulation and disease prevention. This strong growth pattern ensures rapid establishment and sustained productivity throughout the productive lifespan.

Mid-Season Reliability

Ripens consistently in July, providing reliable mid-season harvests that bridge the gap between early and late varieties. This timing ensures fresh redcurrants are available during peak summer when they're most appreciated for fresh eating and preserving.

Outstanding Garden Adaptability

Thrives in full sun to partial shade positions, demonstrating excellent tolerance for various garden conditions whilst maintaining superior productivity. The adaptable nature ensures success across diverse garden situations from open borders to sheltered positions.

Container Growing Excellence

Perfectly suited for container gardening, making premium redcurrant growing accessible to gardeners with limited space or those preferring patio cultivation. The compact, upright growth habit ensures excellent productivity even in restricted growing environments.

Ideal Growing Position

Grows best in full sun with good yields achievable in partial shade, preferring moist, well-draining soil in a sheltered position protected from strong winds. The variety shows excellent tolerance for various soil types whilst maintaining consistent productivity and fruit quality.

Professional Framework Management

Benefits from establishing a well-structured framework through careful pruning, with the densely branched habit responding excellently to goblet-shaped bush training or cordon/fan systems. The vigorous growth ensures rapid framework development and sustained productivity.

Self-Fertile Convenience

Self-fertile characteristics ensure productive harvests from single plantings, making Rolan 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: Clusters of small flowers providing valuable nectar for beneficial insects
• Early Summer: Development of distinctive long strigs of developing berries
• Mid Summer: Spectacular harvest of large, shiny-red berries in convenient clusters
• Autumn: Attractive autumn foliage colour adding seasonal garden interest
• Winter: Dormant framework structure ready for annual pruning cycle

Organic Growing Excellence

The exceptional hardiness and vigorous growth make Rolan perfect for organic growing methods, with natural resilience reducing chemical intervention needs whilst maintaining outstanding productivity and premium fruit quality throughout the growing season.

Modern Breeding Innovation

Represents the finest achievements in contemporary redcurrant breeding, combining improved hardiness characteristics with enhanced productivity and user-friendly harvesting features that deliver both premium fruit quality and practical garden management for discerning modern gardeners.

Growing Success Tips

Success with Redcurrant Rolan centres on selecting a sheltered position with moist, well-draining soil and ensuring adequate spacing of 1.5 metres between plants for optimal air circulation and framework development. Plant during the dormant season between November and March, preparing the soil with generous organic matter incorporation and ensuring consistent moisture retention without waterlogging. Establish a strong framework through careful pruning, taking advantage of the densely branched habit to create an efficient goblet shape or training system that maximises productivity. Take advantage of the convenient long strigs by providing adequate support for heavy crop loads, and harvest the large, shiny berries when fully coloured for optimal flavour and storage quality. 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 Rolan will demonstrate that modern redcurrant breeding delivers exceptional garden performance, combining outstanding hardiness with superior productivity that transforms ordinary kitchen gardens into reliable fruit production centres for gardeners who appreciate both innovation and dependability in their edible landscapes.