Northern Gooseberry Seeds

currently unavailable Tart-High Energy Fruit-Shade Tolerant-Immune to Blister Rust

Excellent flavored sour native gooseberry with 1/2" dark reddish purple fruit. Best growth in an acidic moist sandy soils in part shade. This selection is from the Western Upper Peninsula in Michigan selected for larger fruit size and full crops. This species gooseberry is much like many of the southern species but the fruit is black instead of green. It is a thorny plant with multiple branches emerging from a center crown. It has much less foliage than Missouri gooseberry and easier to find and pick the fruit. It has so far remained free of all insect and disease damage. The leaves always remain clean of fungus. Mulch with wood chips.

Northern gooseberry is one of the few gooseberries that was extensively collected in the northern regions of the U.S. as it is high in nutrition. Some plants can be completed saturated with fruit found growing under white pine trees. The thorny skins can be processed through a food mill to remove. The fruit can be used for pies, jam and jelly or anything that requires a tart fruit. More needs to be done to find super fruitful selections like the Missouri gooseberry is. It does hybridize but by itself it has such a rich flavor, you would hate to dilute it with something else. It would be good to make syrups out of but the yields need to be improved somewhat. It does best in the northern part of its range.