Cape Gooseberry Plant

[amandaandherveg]

I have half a dozen Cape Gooseberry plants that I grew from seed. They were very slow to start but are now about 3 1/2 feet tall, very bushy and take up quite a lot of space, although they are quite pretty.

Should I nip of some of the foliage - would that encourage the energy to go to the little lanterns? How much in the way of fruit should you expect from a plant?

[terrier]

Are your plants in pots or in the ground? Min are in 10" pots and are only about 1 foot high, I just want mine to GROW some foliage. Scotland surely can't be any warmer than North Wales and my plants are shivering with the cold.

[amandaandherveg]

I just took my plants shopping to Damart to get us some thermals, brrr!

They are in Somerfield black plastic flower buckets in the greenhouse floor. Started them off at them end of March on the windowsill and they took about 6 weeks to pop their wee heads through. They're doing well but not sure what to do with them/what to expect. I read that they can be kept for next year, do they shed their leaves in winter?

[stanhol]

Hi,

I have 5 cape gooseberry plants sown late in the season so have kept them all in my GH. They are amazing lants, all of mine are a couple of feet high adn have lanterns on!
Just reading through my book and it says stake them after 12 inches so I had better go do that! They are a half hardy perennial, but usually grown as an annual. So es if you ca find a nice winter home for them you can keep them until next year.
It says if the plants havent produced flowers by the time they are 12 inches high then pinch out the tops, to induce branching. After that no further pinching is needed. I havent pinched mine and am wondering whether i should! Maybe i will on 2 of them and see what happens!
Heres hoping someone knows!

Sandra

[Snadger]

I've grown cape gooseberries for the last three years and have two grown from seed and two kept over from last year!

The two from seed are about 3 foot high but one of last years refugees is about 8 foot high!
Last year as an experiment I tried growing one similar to tomatoes by nipping out the side shoots. That experiment was a failure and shan't be repeated.
I have found the best thing to do is just let them get on with it, no pruning, no feeding, (promotes leaf growth at the expense of fruit), no fancy compposts just good garden soil, but do make sure they are staked as the stems are quite brittle!

[zazen999]

Aye: let them get on with it and if they produce fruit that is ripe before winter then think yourself lucky! My fingers are crossed here for some ripeness before the frosts.

What a dreadful August thus far!!!

[stanhol]

Wow 8 foot high!!!!!!!!!!

I have just been and staked mine! I pinched one out at the top. But i will leave the rest after reading your post!
Where did you over winter them? I have a cold GH would that do? Would they need any extra protection? Also they are in largish pots but certainly not one big enough to hold an 8 foot plant! When should i re pot, they all look like they could do with it now, but i suspect its not s good idea while they are fruiting. So would Spring be a good time? Or would putting them into the soil in the GH work?
They are amazing plants and there was i thinking i had planted the seeds way too late to produce anything!

Thanks again for the info .

Sandra

[Demeter]

Amanda - Hessayon says you can expect 1lb to 2lb of fruit per plant.
Doesn't say anything about overwintering them, but does say that if you can grow toms outside then you can grow these outside - nip out growing tips when it gets to 1 foot high, feed with tom food when first fruits have formed.

Quite tempted to give it ago myself now!!

[amandaandherveg]

Should I nip out the tops now, they're about 3 1/2' ish?

1-2lb a plant, hmmm, not going to be a glut then is there?

[Demeter]

I would guess nipping out the top will just make it put more energy into putting out sideshoots (more greenery) rather than fruit??
No actual idea though...

[amandaandherveg]

I'm just going to leave them to see what they'll do on their own. If they get to 8ft I may have to serve them with an eviction notice.

[Snadger]

There are different varieties. Mine are tall growing but you can get dwarf varieties!

[stigoftheplot]

I was just grateful to get some. I've tried growing & failing dismally for 3 years. This year I got seed elsewhere & sowed direct outside but still nothing, then I put what I thought was the 2 different varieties I'd sowed of sweet peppers in the greenhouse only to find a few weeks later that I had 1 sort & the other was cape gooseberries! Then 2 salsa tomato plants a friend gave me turned into c.goos aswell. When I told her she said she'd sowed salsa toms and sweet peppers in the same tray & hadn't got any toms but did have a mix of sweet peppers & what turned out to be c.goos!!!!!!!!! I cant help wondering as we both had peppers which weren't, whether there was some packs of mixed seed somewhere. Maybe dozens of folk wondering what these strange plants are. The biggest curiosity is how 3 years worth dont grow & the 'accidents' are doing well?!

[stanhol]

Many thanks for the reply, i will pinch out the growing tips. I will keep them in GH overwinter though i think its sooooooo windy here, i would hate to loose them now. I want an 8 foot one like Snadger!
You should give them a go unbelievably easy and such beautiful plants the lanterns are amazing!

Sandra

[bionda75]

I'm growing them for the first time too. I was wondering if I could pot them on into bigger pots, now that I've found out from this thread that you can overwinter them. Or is it just best to wait until the lanterns have ripened and then do it? Don't want them to get pot-bound but then don't want to lose all the lanterns I've got on them either.

Thanks