Red Gooseberry – Self-Fertile Fruit Bush (5L Pot)

A red fruited gooseberry supplied as a large, well rooted bush in a 5 litre pot, ready to crop.

The berries are slightly translucent when ripe, with a sweet-sharp flavour that deepens the longer they are left on the bush. Picked early they cook and jam well; picked late they are a dessert fruit. One bush is enough, because gooseberries are self fertile, and it will keep cropping every summer once settled.

Plant in full sun or partial shade in moist, well-drained soil, spacing bushes about 120 to 150cm apart so air moves between them. Gooseberries also crop in a cooler, part shaded spot, which is unusual among fruit. Water through the first season, feed and mulch in early spring, and prune in winter to an open goblet framework, taking out dead, damaged or crossing branches. The stems are thorny, so wear gloves when picking.

Supplied in a 5 litre pot, ready to plant out or to pot on.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Gooseberry
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 100 to 150cm tall by 100 to 150cm across
• Growth Habit: Bushy, upright, thorny deciduous shrub
• Perfect For: Fruit gardens, allotments, borders and large containers
• Foliage: Mid-green, lobed, deciduous
• Flowering Time: Spring, small and easily missed
• Planting Position: Full sun or partial shade. Crops well in a large container
• Soil Type: Moist but well drained, enriched with organic matter
• Hardiness: Fully hardy
• Maintenance: Low. Prune in winter to an open, goblet shaped framework and feed in early spring
• Seasonal Interest: Summer
• Type: Grow your own