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More fruit bushes-to-be – jostaberry

Posted by on Wednesday 16 March 2011 in growing | 4 comments

A while ago, I said I was done planting fruit bushes for the year, then about a week later I remembered I had some honeyberry bushes on order but once they were planted up, that was it re: fruit bushes for the year. Oh, and there was also the then on order, now planted out cherry tree – definitely nothing else. Definitely, definitely, definitely.

The magnificently wonderful John B popped around last night, bringing with him some of his damson wine (which my John has declared amazing), a jar of his homemade “John’s Spicy Sausage Sauce” (which we shall use to spice up our sausages ASAP) and some jostaberry canes.

I hadn’t heard of jostaberries before John mentioned them to us a while ago – they’re a cross between gooseberries and blackcurrants. Early on, they have the taste & transparency of gooseberries but they darken to end up like big blackcurrants. They also have rather big spikes on them.

He pruned his bushes at the weekend and I won’t be able to plant the cuttings until tomorrow so they might need a bit of TLC – or might just flat out not regrow – but it’s worth a shot.

I plonked them in a tub of water when they arrived and we decided it looked like the worst, most painful, most relationship-ending bouquet of flowers ever — unhappy Valentine’s day. Hopefully though, they’ll eventually make us berry happy indeed.

Other posts you might like:

Fruit bushes finally in the ground Fruit bushes/trees to make a living fence? Picking fruit trees – what to choose? Fishing for fruit: catching wild plums with a fishing net

4 Comments

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  1. Maria
    16 March, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    Berry bad pun! but interesting to learn about new fruit bush variety. (sorry, couldn’t resist).

    Reply
  2. Luddite Jean
    21 March, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    I tried jostaberries some years ago – very tasty, but a powerful magnet for gooseberry saw-flies who would strip the bushes bare overnight.

    Reply
  3. Mack
    7 June, 2011 at 6:14 am

    The photos with this article are not of Jostaberries, which are thornless. They look a lot like Gooseberries to me. They’re all delicious. Orus 8 is another cross of gooseberries and blackcurrants which does have thorns. The berries are smaller than jostaberries but taste is supposedly about the same. I have both plants in my garden, and this is the first year my jostaberry is producing and it is loaded! Looking forward to the feast.

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