Potting Up Gooseberries
Chris takes us through how to expertly transplant and pot-on Gooseberry plants. A hardy and resilient plant that can be grown in almost any soil type, gooseberries are perfect for growing in Spring & Summer.
Preserving Crops through Cuttings
After nearly 20 years I took the decision last season to remove my old fruit garden and turn it back into a vegetable plot, mainly due to virus being present in the raspberries and the very vigorous Josta berries continually outgrowing their allotted space!
One plant I wanted to save was my gooseberries which are a cultivar called ‘Leveller ‘which is now near impossible to obtain as young bushes.
As the gooseberry cordons appeared to be healthy but far too old to move, I took fourteen hardwood cuttings and inserted them in two 4 litre deep rose pots of very sandy compost.
The cuttings we treated with Westland Organic Rooting Powder before being inserted in February last year and left against a North Facing wall for the whole season.
The good news is that I now have thirteen rooted cuttings and it’s now time to pot them on.
Successful Transplanting
It’s always risky when the pot is removed as you just never know how successful the rooting is going to be but as the buds were already starting to break I thought they were probably fine, but the results were even better than what I had hoped for.
There are two reasons why I take hardwood cuttings in sandy compost, firstly it creates the best rooting environment, with good drainage and plenty of oxygen and secondly they are really easy to separate. Just shake the compost off the roots and single out each rooted cutting.
Growing in these deep pots creates a superb root system at least as long as the cutting.
Create a plant with a ‘leg’ (a bare stem of about 100-150mm) to help prevent future suckering by removing all the bottom buds by just pulling them out before potting.
The Right Environment to Grow
At this stage you could plant direct into a nursery bed in the garden for another one or two seasons before planting out to their final location, but for ease of management I am going to pot them on into 4 Litre deep rose pots. The extra depth when compared to standard 3 Litre Pots will enable the full length of the roots to be accommodated.
The compost I am using is last years spent tomato compost which has been reinvigorated with 3 grams per litre of EX4 General Purpose Fertiliser incorporated.
Once potted, water well and put the plants out of full sun for a few days until they start to grow again. In early summer dependant on growth I shall select the best placed 4 or 5 strong shoots to form the primary branches of the new bushes and an apical shoot, plus 4 shoots to form spurs for cordons. Any other shoots will either be removed or cut back to ensure all energy is diverted to the shoots to be retained.
Although growing your own fruit bushes takes time before any fruit can be harvested it is really easy and rewarding and a great way to ‘save’ your favourites that are no longer widely available.
I’m based in Shropshire, and I’ve been a keen gardener since childhood. Throughout my career I have raised plants commercially, landscaped gardens, taught horticulture, built the odd show garden and managed public parks where I helped popularise the use of wildflowers. My passion has always remained with growing fruit and vegetables in my own garden and looking after my rare breed chickens.
I’m based in Shropshire, and I’ve been a keen gardener since childhood. Throughout my career I have raised plants commercially, landscaped gardens, taught horticulture, built the odd show garden and managed public parks where I helped popularise the use of wildflowers. My passion has always remained with growing fruit and vegetables in my own garden and looking after my rare breed chickens.
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