Jostaberry

As the days finally become colder it’s worth taking stock of spaces in the garden or replacing small fruit shrubs that are no longer productive. 

Every year I look at my fruit bushes at the end of the season, prune them, make a note of ones to be replaced and then curse myself the following summer when I still have a collection of poor fruiting bushes, which I should have replaced during the winter. 

This year I have made it my mission to extend the variety and length of the fruiting season of what I have. It’s time to move away from the Holy Trinity of Raspberry, Blackcurrant and Gooseberry and bring in some new varieties too. This nicely leads me to talk about two of the bareroot fruit bushes we have for sale. 

The Jostaberry is a cross between the blackcurrant and the gooseberry. It can grow to between 1.5 – 2 metres and makes a nice shrub, it can be espaliered or simply placed in a pot on the patio. The nice thing about this plant is that it is spineless, so no nasty thorn pricks. The fruit is the size of a small gooseberry but has the flavour of the blackcurrant, though a little less strong. Its fruiting season is from late July and August and like the blackcurrant it’s simply a case of pick and freeze, or jam, or eat straight from the bush. They can even be used in salads as the fruit has a nice acidity which is not as strong as the gooseberry. It is disease resistant and hopefully the only thing you will have to protect it from will be the birds. 

Contact us if you would like to check the availability of Jostaberry and current price. You can also reserve your plant for collection.