Growing Gooseberries:
Planting, Pruning, and Harvest

Planting Gooseberries

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• Pick the spot. Full sun is best in cool climates. Where summers are hot, a spot with afternoon shade keeps the leaves from scorching. Good air flow helps prevent mildew.
• Prepare the soil. Work in plenty of compost. The soil should stay moist but drain well.
• Container-grown plants: set them at the same depth they grew in the pot.
• Bare-root plants: set them about an inch deeper than they grew at the nursery (look for the old soil line).
• Cut back after planting. Trim all the branches back to about 6 inches. This encourages strong new shoots.
• Mulch. Spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch around the bushes to keep the roots cool and moist. Leave it in place year-round, adding more as needed.

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Varieties for Growing Gooseberries

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Gooseberries come in American types, which are hardy and resist mildew, and European types, which have larger, often sweeter berries but are more prone to mildew.

• Hinnonmaki Red: sweet-tart red berries, good mildew resistance.
• Pixwell: an old, very hardy American variety with pink berries and few thorns.
• Captivator: nearly thornless, with red berries.
• Invicta: a productive green European type with good mildew resistance.

Ask your local nursery or Extension office which varieties do best where you live.

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Caring for Gooseberry Bushes

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• Water in the morning, at the base of the plants, so the leaves dry quickly. Gooseberries are prone to powdery mildew.
• Feed lightly. A spring dressing of compost, or a balanced fertilizer, is enough. Gooseberries need potassium for good fruit, and wood ash or a fertilizer with potassium helps.
• Watch for sawfly larvae. Small green caterpillar-like larvae can strip a bush of leaves in days in late spring. Check under the leaves often, and pick them off.
• Late frost. Gooseberries bloom early. In cold areas, a spot on a north-facing slope delays blooming and helps protect the flowers.
• Birds love the berries despite the thorns. Netting helps, or plant an extra bush.

Train them, too. Gooseberries are easy to train against a fence or wall, and make a decorative, productive screen.

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Pruning Gooseberries

Gooseberries fruit best on stems that are 2 and 3 years old. Prune each year in late winter, while the bushes are dormant.

1. Remove old stems. Cut out any stems older than 3 years at the ground. They are darker and woodier.
2. Remove weak stems. Take out low, broken, or crowded stems, and any that cross through the middle.
3. Keep a balance. Leave about 6 to 9 strong stems, with a few each of 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old wood.
4. Open the center. An open bush gets more sun and air, which means less mildew and easier picking.

Wear sturdy gloves: most gooseberries are thorny.

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White Pine Blister Rust

Gooseberries and currants can carry white pine blister rust, a disease that does little harm to the bushes but can kill white pines. Some areas restrict planting them near white pines.

• Check first: ask your county Extension office whether there are rules where you live.
• Keep your distance: where white pines grow, plant gooseberries at least 900 feet away.
• Choose resistant varieties when you can.

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Picking and Using Gooseberries

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• For pies, jams, and cooking: pick the berries full size but still firm and slightly underripe. They are tart and have the most pectin.
• For fresh eating: let them ripen fully on the bush, until slightly soft and sweeter. Some varieties turn red, pink, or purple.
• A little history: the gooseberry is said to be named for a sauce once served with roast goose. The French serve gooseberry sauce with mackerel.

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Gooseberry Fool Recipe

Gooseberry Fool has been a favorite English dessert for hundreds of years. Legend says it got its name because after eating it, you acted like a fool, and children would eat as much as they could, run outside, roll down a hill, and start eating all over again!

• 1 pound gooseberries
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream

1. Trim. Snip off the tops and tails of the gooseberries.
2. Cook. Put the berries in a saucepan with the water and sugar. Simmer over low heat, stirring now and then, for about 20 minutes, until tender.
3. Sieve. Press the fruit through a sieve with the back of a spoon, and let it cool.
4. Whip. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
5. Fold. Gently fold the cream into the gooseberry puree.
6. Chill. Spoon into dessert dishes and chill at least 1 hour before serving.

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More Berry Growing Guides

Growing gooseberries is easy, and a few bushes give you plenty of berries. This page is part of our Growing Fruit and Berries hub.

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