Growing Gooseberries

Gooseberries are derived mostly from two species: the European gooseberry (Ribes grossularia), native to the Caucasus Mountains and North Africa; and the American gooseberry (R. hirtellum), native to northeastern and north-central United States and adjacent parts of Canada.

So-called European cultivars are pure species, but virtually all so-called American cultivars also have European genes. Gooseberries grow best in summer humid, cool regions with great winter chilling.

Gooseberries, compared to other berries, are more shade tolerant. This characteristic can be used to lengthen the harvesting period of the same variety of gooseberry. Do note that planting gooseberries in shaded positions, might influence the infection rate of mildew (tolerant varieties) Also the taste of the gooseberry may be more tart when planted in deep shade.

However, most varieties can also in planted in sunny places, although very intense sun can give sunburn to the berries of several varities. Gooseberries can very well be planted under other fruit trees as seperate bush, but also mixed into flower gardens, trained as hedges or as mini-tree at the entrance of the garden, as mini-stemmed bushes in flower beds, as focus points,… For gooseberry culture they are trained as cordons.

Gooseberries flower early, so the flowers can be damaged by (night) frost starting from - 3°C (27 F). So it's best to place them in a sheltered position, or to choose late flowering varieties. The bushes can tolerate temperatures of - 18°C (0 F). Some gooseberry varieties have an interesting autumn colouring of the leaves.

Description

Growth habit - Gooseberries are deciduous shrubs, fast growing under optimum conditions to 3 feet (1 m) tall and 6 feet (2 m) wide. The plant is suitable for training as a standard. American types have weeping stems that will root wherever they touch the ground and can be invasive. Annual growth is in a single flush in spring. The roots are superficial, fine and easily damaged by frequent cultivation.

Foliage - The buds perk up early in the spring, dotting the stems with green when most other plants are still tawny. The leaves are alternate, single, deeply lobed, and glossy dark green (European types), or pale to gray-green and sometimes finely pubescent (American types). The stems are thin, becoming woody, with a large thorn at each axil.

American gooseberry stems are densely bristly, with one or more additional thorns at each axil. Leaf size and number are reduced under heat or light stress, and are easily burned by intense sunlight. Plants that have been subject to drought may make a new growth flush after deep irrigation. If the roots are lost, regrowth will wait until the following spring.

Flowers - The inconspicuous flowers, green with pink flushed petals, open in early spring. They are borne laterally on one-year old wood and on short spurs of older wood. The flowers are self-fertile and pollinated by wind and insects, including bees. Each flower bud opens to yield from one to four flowers, depending on cultivar.

Fruit - The fruit, borne singly or in pairs at the axils, is a berry with many minute seeds at the center. A gooseberry may be green, white (gray-green), yellow, or shades of red from pink to purple to almost black. Fruits of the European gooseberry may be very large, like a small plum, but are usually 1 inch (2.5 cm) long, less in width.

American gooseberry fruits are smaller (to 1/2 inch - 13 mm), perfectly round, all becoming pink to wine-red at maturity. Skin color is most intense in full sunlight. Berries generally drop when overripe. The fruit has a flavor all its own, the best dessert cultivars as luscious as the best apple, strawberry or grape.

Culture

Location - Gooseberries like morning sun, afternoon part-shade and buoyant air circulation. They are most productive in full sunlight but the leaves sunburn easily under California conditions. They can be grown in the high shade of fruit trees such as persimmon or on the north side of buildings. American gooseberry are much more sun tolerant. Plants collapse quickly when soil or air temperature exceeds 85° F (30 C).

Soil - Gooseberry plants are less finicky about soil acidity than most other small fruits, and tolerate a wide range of soils, except those that are waterlogged. Where summers are hot, bushes will grow better and produce better fruit in heavier soils, which retain more moisture and stay cooler. A thick mulch of some organic material also helps keep the soil cool. Sandy soils are less suitable for gooseberries because they dry out too fast.

Irrigation - With their fibrous, shallow roots gooseberries are ideal for drip system. Keep the plants watered all season, since they will not regenerate buds or leaves lost from drought stress. Plants stressed for water are susceptible to mildew.

fertilization - Gooseberries have a high requirement for potassium and a moderate need for nitrogen, although excessive amounts of nitrogen promote disease, especially mildew. Between four and eight ounces of actual nitrogen per square yard strikes a good balance between growth and disease tolerance.

The symptom of potassium deficiency is scorching of leaf margins. Deficiency can be avoided with an annual dressing of half an ounce of potassium per square yard. Gooseberry plants also have a fairly high requirement for magnesium, so if the soil is very acidic and needs lime, use dolomitic limestone, which supplies magnesium as well as calcium.

Pruning - A gooseberry bush is usually grown on a permanent short "leg" of about six inches, from which the bush is continually renewed with new shoots arising at or near ground level. Allow stems to grow for 4-5 years, then selectively remove oldest stems to make room for new shoots.

Snap off any branches that form along or below the six-inch leg. Thorns make harvest tedious, so pruning is done to open up the bush and make picking easier. The plants may be grown as standards or cordons, but this requires a lot of care and the fruit often sunburns.

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