Gooseberry Advice

[darloboy]

Hi

I bought 4 young red gooseberries a few months ago and they have been left in their pots ever since, the intention being to plant them in my new allotment.

However the leaves are yellowing a bit and am not really sure why. Any advice on how I can bring these back or would you expect them to look like this at this time of the year?

Thanks

[WendyC]

I suspect it's simply that it is Autumn. They are deciduous shrubs. Mind you looking at the photo they look shrivelled. Are the leaves soft or papery? Have they been watered at all? Try lifting the plant by its stems, it should stay in the pot otherwise there may be root problems.

[darloboy]

Hi

Thanks for replying. The leaves are leafy in texture not papery, aside from a couple which are curled ready to drop off which are papery.

I've held them by the stem and they stay in the pot.

They have been watered albeit not as regularly as they should have been. They were tucked away and became forgotten about as my new allotment is like a building site at the moment

[WendyC]

I think it's just the time of year. Overwatering would be more of a problem this time of year than under watering. I suspect they'll bounce back in the spring.

[darloboy]

Brilliant thanks Wendy. When would you recommend putting them in the ground?

I also have 2 gooseberries to dig up and move, is it a safe time of year to do that also?

Thanks so much for the advice

[BUFFS]

Get them lifted and resited asap, while there is some warmth left in the soil and they will be putting out some new roots out over the winter, giving you a head start, if they cant go in the ground then put them into good sized pots of topsoil and put them somewhere in a bit of shelter. If in pots then absolutely drench them after potting up and that's it, you wont need to do any more til spring when you decide where you want them...

[WendyC]

Pot grown plants can be planted any time whilst the soil isn't water logged or frozen. Now is a good time as the soil is warm and moist so they should get a few roots down before winter. Established plants are best moved when dormant (after leaf fall) but to be honest if they are starting to shut down now then you'd get away with it. Once lifted get them in their new hole as quickly as possible, preferably dig the new hole first. I've had good results using micorrhyzal fungi ("Rootgrow"). Depending on how moist the soil is I often water the hole first so the water is right by the roots.