A very easy plant to grow, thriving in any good garden soil and tolerating dense shade under trees. It grows well in heavy clay soils and also succeeds in dry soils if it is given a good mulch annually. It dislikes exposure to strong winds. Plants are hardy to about -20°c. Very tolerant of pruning, plants can be cut back into old wood if they grow too large and straggly. Spring is the best time to do this. Suckers are fairly freely produced, with established plants forming dense thickets. Most plants grown under this name are casual hybrids with M. repens. This species is easily confused with M. pinnata, with which it also hybridizes. The flowers are delicately scented. A number of named forms have been developed for their ornamental value. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus. This plant is the state flower of Oregon.

Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruit is almost as large as a blackcurrant and is produced in large bunches so it is easy to harvest. It has an acid flavor, but it is rather nice raw and is especially good when added to a porridge or muesli. Unfortunately, there is relatively little flesh and a lot of seeds, though some plants have larger and juicier fruits. The cooked fruit tastes somewhat like blackcurrants. The fruit can also be dried and stored for later use. Flowers - raw. They can also be used to make a lemonade-like drink.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. It usually germinates in the spring. 'Green' seed (harvested when the embryo has fully developed but before the seed case has dried) should be sown as soon as it is harvested and germinates within 6 weeks. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible in late winter or spring. 3 weeks cold stratification will improve its germination, which should take place in 3 - 6 months at 10°c. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer. Division of suckers in spring. Whilst they can be placed direct into their permanent positions, better results are achieved if they are potted up and placed in a frame until established. Leaf cuttings in the autumn.

Mixed coniferous woods to 2000 metres. It is found in woods and hedgerows in Britain.