Rooted shoots of the black currant with fewer than 20 nodes, taken from mature bushes, cannot be induced to initiate flowers by short-day treatment. This ‘juvenile’ condition has been shown to be unrelated to ‘size’ attributes, such as leaf area, but is associated with the proximity of the shoot tips to the roots. Aerial rooting on long ‘mature’ shoots prevents flower initiation. Gibberellic acid application prevents flowering in mature shoots, as do high levels of IBA. Cytokinins have no effect. Abscisic acid and CCC application gave some promotion of flowering in long shoots in long-day, but did not overcome the ‘juvenility’ of short shoots. Gibberellin assay reveals activity in the roots and lower parts of stems, while none could be detected in the tops of long shoots. It is suggested that the correlation between shoot length and gibberellin activity may be decisive in determining juvenility in the black currant and possibly other species.