Gooseberry bush Help identify the problem

[Mighty8th]

Hello all

Have two gooseberry bush plants that have been in a garden for probably 30years. latterly the last 10years they have been abandoned, they stand around 2feet tall last year I took the fruit from them and now I am going to be looking after them. however I thought one was dead. But it appears to still have some life in it, of the whole bush most of it has no sign of life other than 10% at the most that has some leaf on it, it also produces a small amount of fruit. It is covered in a lichen I presume it's a disease of some kind however when I google it nothing sounds like the problem It has


Anyone have any ideas it would be a shame to destroy it and plant another as it's so old

Thanks Tom

[boundtothesoil]

It is covered in a lichen I presume it's a disease of some kind however when I google it nothing sounds like the problem It has

I wouldn't worry about the branches being covered by lichens. In many western/wetter parts of the country most older apple, pear and plum trees are covered too. Lichens are harmless symbiotic associations between fungi and algae and do not attack the bush.

However, if the 10% leafed bush was mine, I would be assuming that the leafless branches were actually dead - probably victim of a fungal infection at some time in the past. So I would progressively cut back these branches now, checking as I go to see if the wood is dead (i.e. totally brown cross section when cut and no sign of pale green colouration at all ), until I hit live wood. They may of course be dead right from the base upwards, in which case I'd remove all but the lowest inch or two of dead wood now, then saw the rest off in the winter. As to the living bit, I'd probably prune it back in the winter in order to reshape the bush and stimulate growth from some of the remaining live buds. Failing that I'd take a few cuttings from the live section in the late autumn and plant them in some open soil nearby - then the bush lives on.

[Mighty8th]

Thank you for that, it's very odd how such a small bit of it is alive and the majority is dead, I don't know if there is any advantage to keeping a old bush or not I guess if it was 100% it would be better than re planting one but if it's mainly dead then perhaps there is no reason to keep it?

[Polytastic]

I have no idea to the merit of keeping elderly gooseberry but if it takes up little room maybe just waiting on it (with a potted new one in the wings) nearby for next year is the answer. I only just planted out my gooseberry from four years ago and it was doing well in the pot and has taken to the great outdoors well enough too. It might be the answer to try to save the old one as a lot of the much older varieties have a greater depth of flavour ... just a thought.

[rustylady]

Hello all

Have two gooseberry bush plants that have been in a garden for probably 30years. latterly the last 10years they have been abandoned, they stand around 2feet tall

Really? 30 years old and only 2 feet tall? Do you have any pictures you could post?

[Mighty8th]

It's older than me so must be a year either side of 30. will post some pictures up when I'm next there, 2ft was a guess may be closer to 3ft but the pictures will show them for bad or good