Gooseberry

Ribes uva-crispa Invicta

• Position: full sun, but some shading needed in very hot weather
• Soil: any well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Other features: large, pale green berries (late July)
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  A vigorous, spreading bush with large, pale green berries which are good for both culinary and dessert use. It is one of the most popular gooseberries grown due to heavy yields and resistance to American gooseberry mildew. Gooseberries are easy to grow shrubs for any size garden and are usually the first bush fruit to be picked. Grow them as bushes, fans, espaliers, cordons or even standards.
  
  
• Garden care: Prepare the ground well before planting. Remove all weeds and dig in plenty of well-rotted manure in to the area. Once planted, apply a mulch of well-rotted manure every spring, as well as a nitrogen and potassium fertiliser. Make sure the plant is watered in dry weather and net the bushes to protect the fruit from birds. In the first year, prune shoots back by half to three-quarters to an outward-facing bud in winter. After that prune out weak and older branches only.