'Captivator' Gooseberry Bush

Little red flavour bombs

Grown by Danielle

South Downs National Park

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Regular price £17
Regular price £19 Sale price £17

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The highlights

  • Boasts tartness that mellows when cooked
  • A variety with good disease resistance
  • Use in fools, clafoutis and pies
  • Harvest from July to August

Description

  • An excellent red gooseberry variety with bulbous, juicy berries, perfect for eating fresh, using in desserts and even for making homemade wine
  • This bush doesn't have many thorns or spines, which makes picking the delicious fruits a pain-free doddle!
  • There's colour everywhere you look with this plant; delicate white flowers precede the appearance of the berries in the spring, whilst in the autumn, the deciduous foliage (which is green for most of the year) takes on orange and red hues
  • Fully cold hardy and resistant to diseases like mildew, this is a fabulous choice for British gardens
  • You can grow your gooseberry bush in a variety of ways, including as a bush, cordon or trained as a fan against your fence
  • One of the Royal Horticultural Society's Plants for Pollinators, this plant will attract beneficial wildlife like bees to your garden

What to expect

Supplied as

Potted plant
Premium plant in a 3L pot

Height on arrival

60-80cm

Eventual height

2-3.5m

Eventual spread

2m
Spreads approximately 2m.

Tasting notes

Slightly tart when raw, becoming sweeter when cooked

Time to first crop

2-3 years
Gooseberry bushes typically start producing fruit after two or three years.

Flower colour

White
Small white flowers appear in April and May

Habit

Bushy
This gooseberry bush will naturally spread as it grows.

Hardiness

Fully hardy
H6 - Hardy in even harsh British winters, tolerating temperatures down to -20°C.

Self fertile

Self fertile

Uses

Eating fresh, jams, wine-making and desserts

Spacing

1.5-2m
Plant 1.5-2m apart to allow for spreading.

How to grow

Good pest and disease resistance

Good pest and disease resistance

From a disease perspective, there may be issues with mildew and leaf spot, whilst on the pest side of things, aphids and capsid bugs can become an issue.

Water well when establishing

Water well when establishing

Regular watering throughout your plant's first growing season is advised, as this will help it establish better. Beyond this, watering will only be needed in hot, dry spells.

Full sun to partial shade

Full sun to partial shade

For the best fruit, plant your gooseberry bush in full sun. It will still grow well enough in partial shade, however.

Any moist, well-drained soil

Any moist, well-drained soil

Grows well in a range of soil conditions and even tolerates chalk soils. Good drainage is key, but you also want soil that's somewhat moisture-retentive. If your soil is particularly poor, then incorporate some organic matter just to enrichen it a bit.

Feed in spring

Feed in spring

Apply a fertiliser that's rich in nitrogen (like blood, fish and bone) in the spring.

Planting calendar

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  • Best time to plant
  • Harvest
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Choose your size

'Captivator' Gooseberry Bush Soft Fruit
'Hinnonmaki Green' Gooseberry Bush Soft Fruit
'Captivator' Gooseberry Bush Soft Fruit

South Downs National Park

Meet Danielle

110 years' expertise free with every plant

You simply can’t buy better fruit plants and here’s why. Danielle grows them outdoors, just like our nursery has done since 1908, so they’re more than a match for the UK weather. Danielle only has time for the top performing varieties, meaning that you can be assured of a successful (and blooming tasty) soft fruit crop.

What customers say about us

We do our best to provide you the best experience ever

Growing with Roots

Good to know

Our plants are grown 
in the UK

Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.

Our plants are delivered overnight

Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 
24 hours.

We're here to help at every step

We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team 
of experts.

Perfect plants, guaranteed

We’re confident that you’ll be delighted 
with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re 
perfectly happy.

Digging deep to answer your questions

How do I know I'm getting quality plants?

All of our plants are grown in specialist nurseries with the highest standards of plant care and sustainability. We guarantee you'll love them as much as we do! Don't just take our word for it - we've got thousands of great reviews on Trustpilot.

When will I get my plants?

The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.

How will my plants be packed and delivered?

We send all of our orders through a courier network designed to handle plants. Specialist equipment ensures that no plants will be damaged during the packing process and every order is carefully finished and checked by plant-loving humans. Your plants will arrive in the most sustainable packaging possible with minimal to no plastic used.

Where do you deliver?

We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.

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What customers say about us

We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
10 May

Best plants you will ever get online

I have ordered plants from them twice this year. They arrived well packaged, on time and looked strong and healthy. I feel the staff from Roots plants deal with their plants and customers with passion and care. I can’t wait to order again, price is good as well.

2 May

Highly recommended all round

Delivered quickly, perfectly packaged and the tree was in excellent condition. Really healthy and taken to the garden with no problems. Can't recommend highly enough. 5 stars isn't enough!

3 April

Satisfied customer

Unlike other online sellers, this company are well ahead in the quality stakes. My plant arrived promptly as per their promise and the plant was much more established and healthy than I had expected. It’s the second time I have ordered from them and I have faith in their promise. Excellent service.

26 February

A really good quality tree

A really good quality tree, delivered on time and very well packaged. But the emailed planting advice and supporting information was what really impressed me. Thoroughly recommended.

18 May

Exceptional quality

The quality of the plants was exceptional, unlike ones I have had before from local garden centres. Thank you so much. I will definitely be using you again.

22 February

Marvellous!

Marvellous service, great plants and fast delivery. Very useful information on how to care for the plants I bought. Easy to use website that makes it far too easy to overindulge in fabulous plants 😂🌱

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