Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre's Plant Library

Description:

An improved variety of gooseberry for the home orchard with deep reddish-pink fruit with sweet flesh and a tangy outer skin, increased resistance to powdery mildew and exceptional yields; virtually spine free; needs regular pruning for productivity

Edible Qualities

Captivator Gooseberry is a large shrub that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces clusters of cherry red round berries which are usually ready for picking from early to mid summer. The berries will often fade to dark red over time. The berries have a sweet taste and a juicy texture.

The berries are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Baking
• Preserves
• Wine-Making

Features & Attributes

Captivator Gooseberry has rich green deciduous foliage on a plant with an upright spreading habit of growth. The lobed leaves turn red in fall. It features an abundance of magnificent cherry red berries in early summer, which fade to dark red over time.

This is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Captivator Gooseberry is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Captivator Gooseberry will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn't require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

This shrub is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated edibles garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.