Gooseberry/Redcurrant seedlings

[Sweet Pea]

When I was picking some gooseberries and redcurrants the other day I noticed a few little seedlings around the base of each bush - presumably from last year's fruit.

I've dug them up and stuck them in pots - any idea how long it will be before I'm likely to get any fruit off them. They're only an inch or two high at the moment so I'm guessing I will need to be patient!

[SimonCole]

It will probably take 2 or 3 years before you start getting a crop. When you take cuttings you get a replica of the parent plant. With seedlings you can have various features distinct from the parent.

Currants and the like often send up shoots from below the ground, so it is possible that they came from the parent and not from seed. It is the established orthodox to leave these new shoots because they will fruit next year. But I don't think digging them up would do any harm.