Plant · P-450

European Gooseberry

Ribes uva-crispa

European Gooseberry is a cool-climate shrub of northern Europe that thickens into a clump by suckering from the root. A mature bush hands over eight to ten pounds of fruit across a four-to-six-week harvest - tart and green for pies when picked hard, sweet enough to eat raw once it ripens - though birds strip it before full ripeness, so netting is not optional. It needs real winter chill to set fruit and struggles wherever winters run mild and summers hot, even though the plant itself shrugs off deep cold with ease.