Jostaberry

Sun

Full sun in cool climates; light afternoon shade where summers are hot.

Water

Keep the root zone evenly moist, especially during establishment and while berries swell; avoid waterlogged ground.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil, preferably slightly acidic to neutral.

Height

4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m)

Spread

4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m)

Flowers

Small, inconspicuous greenish flowers flushed reddish-purple in spring.

Foliage

Lobed, mid-green leaves on a broad framework of thornless branches; leaves fall in autumn.

Growth

Moderate to fast once established.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Disease resistant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.6 ft (0.5 m)

2. After 1 year

   2.5 ft (0.75 m)

3. After 2 years

   3 ft (1 m)

4. After 3 years

   4 ft (1.3 m)

5. After 5 years

   5 ft (1.5 m)

   full size

About 4 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Fast

• Water deeply during dry spells, particularly from flowering until harvest.
• Apply a modest amount of balanced fruit fertilizer in early spring; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding.
• Mulch annually with 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of compost or well-rotted organic matter, keeping it clear of the stems.
• Keep weeds and grass away from the shallow root zone; avoid deep hoeing.
• Protect ripening berries with taut, wildlife-safe netting over a frame, checking it daily.
• Before planting in the United States, check state and local restrictions on growing Ribes.

Pruning. In late winter, remove dead, damaged and crossing branches, then cut up to one-third of the oldest stems to ground level. Retain a mixture of younger and mature stems, and avoid shearing the whole bush, which removes fruiting wood.

Pick in early to midsummer when the berries are deep purple-black, slightly soft and no longer sharply sour; taste a few rather than judging by colour alone. Pick individual berries as they ripen, since a bush may need several passes. Expect the first worthwhile crop about 2-3 years after planting, sometimes longer from a small plant.

Late autumn

Plant dormant bushes when the soil is workable and not waterlogged or frozen.

Late winter

Prune out damaged branches and thin the oldest stems at their bases.

Early spring

Feed lightly, renew the mulch and water newly planted bushes.

Spring

Inspect leaf undersides for sawfly larvae and aphids; protect flowers if a severe late frost is forecast.

Early summer

Keep moisture steady and fit a netting frame before berries colour.

Midsummer

Harvest ripe berries regularly and remove netting once picking is finished.

Autumn

Clear fallen diseased leaves and take hardwood cuttings after leaf fall.

• Plant in a fruit garden with currants and gooseberries, allowing room to reach the whole bush for picking.
• Use as an informal edible hedge where its broad, thornless growth can develop without close clipping.
• Place behind low herbs or strawberries in an edible border, keeping its root zone accessible for mulching.
• Include along a sunny food-forest edge, away from heavy tree shade and root competition.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, Potager (kitchen garden), Food forest, Edible landscape, Homestead and Backyard orchard.

Plant it with: Chives, Strawberries, Rhubarb and Calendula.

Wildlife: Spring flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Birds eat the berries and may shelter in established bushes.

• Birds take ripening berries: cover the bush with taut, wildlife-safe netting supported clear of the fruit.
• Gooseberry sawfly larvae can strip leaves: inspect regularly from spring and remove larvae by hand, including those low inside the bush.
• Aphids distort young shoots: wash small colonies off with water and encourage ladybirds and other predators.
• Poor cropping can follow late frost, excessive shade or severe pruning: choose a bright site outside frost pockets and retain a mixture of stem ages.

Jostaberry is not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses; the ripe berries are edible. Leaves and stems are not normally eaten, and animal-specific safety information is limited. Large amounts of fruit may cause digestive upset.

• Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum)

  Blackcurrant leaves have a strong characteristic scent when rubbed, and the smaller berries usually hang in longer clusters. Jostaberry leaves are much less aromatic and its berries are larger.

• European gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa)

  Most gooseberries have conspicuous spines at the stem nodes and often visibly veined or hairy fruit. Jostaberry has thornless stems and smooth, dark purple-black ripe berries.

Jostaberry combines parts of the German words Johannisbeere, meaning currant, and Stachelbeere, meaning gooseberry.

Propagation. Take pencil-thick hardwood cuttings from healthy current-season growth after leaf fall, or layer a low branch into the soil. Vegetative propagation preserves the parent plant; seedlings may differ.

Accepted botanical name

Ribes nidigrolaria

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.