News Release
August 27, 2007

Landscaping Tips: Gooseberry variety tastes great, resists diseases

By Scott Hininger, extension educator, and Robert Waggener, editor UW CES

A gooseberry variety released in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service is known for its fruit quality and disease and pest resistance.

The variety is called ‘Jeanne,’ a high-quality plant that produces dark-red berries good for desserts, juices and jams.

Jeanne is a late-ripening, sturdy plant that should be suitable for commercial gooseberry production and home plantings, said Kim Hummer, supervisory research horticulturist at the ARS’s National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, Ore.

“The fruit taste is full and sweet, improved over the popular variety ‘Captivator,’” Hummer said.

Like other Ribes species (a genus of flowering shrubs including gooseberries and currants), gooseberries are generally susceptible to white pine blister rust. While the disease causes them little harm, it can be devastating – even fatal – to pine trees. Jeanne gooseberries are highly resistant to white pine blister rust as well as powdery mildew, the biggest disease threat to gooseberry production in the United States.

The plant’s robustness also protects it from insects such as aphids and sawflies, Hummer said.

NCGR Plant Pathologist Joe Postman said Jeanne should do well in Wyoming.             

“Gooseberries are pretty cold hardy, and Jeanne should perform well in most areas of your state,” said Postman, who noted Jeanne should be hardy down to USDA cold hardiness zone 4, which covers most of Wyoming.

The plant produces green berries, which ripen to a deep maroon-red as they mature to full size.

Jeanne boasts a higher yield than similar cultivars such as Invicta and Captivator, producing about 3.3 pounds of flavorful fruits per plant. Three to four Jeanne plants, like other varieties, should produce enough berries for the average family.

The ARS scientists believe Jeanne could extend the production season because it blooms and produces fruit about one to two weeks later than other red gooseberry plants. Jeanne plant material has been sent to several nurseries to propagate and make available to the public. Check local nuseries for more information on gooseberries and varieties that will work best for your area as well as the availability of Jeanne.

Gooseberries are fast-growing, deciduous shrubs typically reaching 3-foot tall and 6-foot wide. Thorns make harvest tedious, so pruning is done to open up the bush and make picking easier.

Gooseberries do best in cool locations, such as those receiving sun in the morning and part-shade in the afternoon. Give them plenty of room as they like good air circulation.

The plants tolerate a wide range of soils, but they do best in a clayey loam high in organic matter.

The soil should be kept moist, which means sandy soils are the least suitable as they dry out more quickly. Incorporating 1 to 3 inches of compost or other organic matter prior to planting provides nutrients and will help with water retention in the case of sandy soils. The organic matter will improve porosity, infiltration and drainage if the soil is high in clay.

A 3- to 4-inch layer of mulch can be spread over the soil to help retain moisture and keep the soil cooler.

Gooseberries, which have fibrous, shallow roots, are ideal for a drip system. This will keep water off the leaves and fruit, helping to prevent the spread of fungal diseases. Keep the plants watered all season since they will not regenerate buds or leaves lost from drought stress.

Add a well-balanced fertilizer in the spring if the soil lacks nutrients. Do not over apply nitrogen as this will cause excess vegetative growth and make the plants susceptible to mildew and insects. Never apply nitrogen after fruit set.

At planting time, cut young, single-stemmed plants down to three or four buds but no more if nursery plants are received as bare-root stock, Postman said. If the plant has more than one stem, cut off all but the healthiest looking one. The above-ground portion of the plant must be balanced with the root system or the plant will suffer.

If a nursery plant is growing in a container, Postman added, it should require no pruning at planting time other than to remove dead or damaged twigs or to train the plant to a desired shape.

“Jeanne was a selection our gene bank inherited from Oregon State University about 25 years ago,” Postman said. It is named in honor of the late Cheryl Jeanne Gunning, who worked in the tissue culture laboratory of the Corvallis repository from 1981 to 1985.

To read more about the Jeanne gooseberry, see the following ARS Web pages: www.ars-grin.gov/cor/news/jeanne/ and www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2006/060720.htm.

Contact: Robert Waggener, Editor
Phone: (307) 766-3571
E-mail: robertw@uwyo.edu

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