Blackcurrant: Ben Sarek

My favourite blackcurrant, Ben Sarek. Compact, dwarf growth with enormous black berries, sweet and juicy enough to eat raw. I bought the first four bushes when I was 15, and grew them in pots. 28 years on, I still have the original bushes, plus a number I have taken as cuttings. Until this year, none has ever shown any sign of any pest or disease, and has always cropped copiously. This year, we had a very bad attack of aphids, which has reduced the amount of foliage on some of the bushes, and spoiled a small portion of the crop. I'm not sure if this is related to the age of the bushes, the pattern of attack was rather random. I'll removed as much of the old wood as possible once the bushes have cropped and see whether this makes any difference next year.