Gooseberry Ribes uva-crispa "Captivator"
Seller: ALLIKASILM
About this product
'Captivator' is an almost thornless gooseberry from Canada, bred at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa from a cross of European and American gooseberries and released in 1949. It is extremely winter-hardy and well suited to the Estonian climate. Buy a 'Captivator' gooseberry plant in Estonia from the ALLIKASILM nursery.
The berries are teardrop-shaped, about 2–2.5 cm, ripening dark red to burgundy. The flavour is sweet with a light tang. The crop ripens in July, often in clusters.
The bush is upright, 90–150 cm tall, with few soft spines, so picking is easy. The variety is resistant to mildew and leaf spot and self-fertile. Use it fresh, for jam, jelly and juice.
Specifications
- Type: almost thornless gooseberry (fruit bush)
- Botanical name: Ribes uva-crispa "Captivator" (R. uva-crispa × R. hirtellum)
- Height and spread: 90–150 cm × 90–150 cm, upright
- Fruit: teardrop-shaped, 2–2.5 cm, dark red to burgundy, sweet
- Ripening: July
- Light: sun to partial shade
- Soil: fertile, moist, well-drained, slightly acid to neutral
- Hardiness: very high; USDA zone 3–4, suitable for all of Estonia
- Disease resistance: mildew and leaf spot; self-fertile
- Use: fresh eating, jam, jelly, juice; home garden
- Size: 2 L, 3 L or 5 L pot
Advice from our agronomist
Planting. Plant in spring or autumn (September) in sun or light shade. Dig a 40×40 cm hole and add compost. Set the plant 3–5 cm deeper than it grew in the pot to encourage new shoots. Space bushes 1–1.5 m apart.
Watering and feeding. Water regularly in the first summer and while the berries swell, especially in dry spells. In spring give compost or a berry fertiliser; in the second half of summer use only potassium and phosphorus. Mulch the root zone, as gooseberry roots are shallow.
Care. Prune in early spring: remove branches older than 4–5 years, diseased and low-lying ones, and keep 8–12 strong branches of different ages. An open bush gets good airflow and suffers less from disease. With few spines, pruning and picking are easy.
Gardener's tip. For the sweetest berries, let them ripen fully on the bush to dark red. For jam you can pick part of the crop a little earlier, while the berries are still reddish and sharper.
Codes and attributes
| Size | 2 l pot, 3 l pot, 5 l pot |
|---|---|
| Category | Gooseberries |
Delivery and timing
- Parcel locker — €2.99–3.99, free from 59,00 €
- Courier to the door — €7.99–8.99, free from 99,00 €
- Dispatched within 2 working days