Gooseberries.....will not give me fruit

[Smokymist]

Maybe it's because I have them in giant pots and not the ground ? They bloom every spring,but don't give me fruit ? I don't know the variety....do they need a male and female ?
I'm about to just give them away, makes no sense to me to keep them if they aren't going to produce and I've had them 6-7 years

 

[BNaula1]

From what I recall they are self fertile but they still require pollination from bees etc. They grow best on 2nd year wood so you should've had some sort of harvest by now for sure.

What’re you feeding them? Location temps?

 

[Smokymist]

Not feeding them anything. I'm in East TN. Temps ? Different every day lol

 

[Figgin' A]

I can tell you that growing in containers is not a problem. I have two plants in 5 or 7-gallon pots and they look very happy and produce abundantly. I fertilize mine with Holly Tone in the fall and in early spring, and water regularly; that's all. They need very minimal maintenance. One thing to consider is your climate. I don't know what your climate looks like, but gooseberries are considered cool-weather crops and thrive at temperatures between 65 and 75F. They also need at least 40 days of winter chill. One other thing to consider is the danger of frosts. While the plants are very hardy, if they wake up too early in warm climates and get hit by frosts when new gentle growth appears and especially when they flower, they may get damaged and the fruit set may be affected.

 

[ktrain]

I also have mine in pots, 2 years ago they weren't doing real well so I put both in 1 20g pot.
Trying to save on space...lol

One produces a ton and the other a few.
BUT...the frost came and destroyed my crop.
I only have a few berries that made it.

Such is life.

 

[Figgin' A]

You guys down South have a very tricky climate for cold-weather crops. Very warm/hot days that trick these plants into waking up and flowering way too early, followed by freezing or frosty nights, are a recipe for disaster. You may need to use some sort of protection or shuffling.

Large pots are the way to go. All of my long-term plants go into 20-gallon pots after I evaluate them and see if I like the variety. These two gooseberries (Hinnomaki and Invicta), which are in their 3rd year, are definitely keepers and will be up-potted this summer. I also found another promising variety, Black Velvet, which I will be adding next year.

I also have mine in pots, 2 years ago they weren't doing real well so I put both in 1 20g pot.
Trying to save on space...lol

One produces a ton and the other a few.
BUT...the frost came and destroyed my crop.
I only have a few berries that made it.

Such is life.

 

[Smokymist]

You guys down South have a very tricky climate for cold-weather crops. Very warm/hot days that trick these plants into waking up and flowering way too early, followed by freezing or frosty nights, are a recipe for disaster. You may need to use some sort of protection or shuffling.

Large pots are the way to go. All of my long-term plants go into 20-gallon pots after I evaluate them and see if I like the variety. These two gooseberries (Hinnomaki and Invicta), which are in their 3rd year, are definitely keepers and will be up-potted this summer. I also found another promising variety, Black Velvet, which I will be adding next year.

Love the pictures. Yeah this year though, of all the years, should have been THE year for us to get fruit. We did not have late frosts, so every fruit tree or bush I have is covered, even my honeyberries and currants.

 

[Smokymist]

I'm in zone 7B. We did not have a harsh winter but we did have enough cold days for a good winter chill. We had, in my opinion, such a mild early spring, with no surprising late frosts or freezes, that all of my other fruits are covered. First year for my currants to give me fruit and do so well , my honeyberries produced a bit more...my poms are covered in blooms, figs did not get hit hard...peaches, plums, even my grapes have clusters. Maybe I just need to feed them.

 

[Figgin' A]

I'm in zone 7B. We did not have a harsh winter but we did have enough cold days for a good winter chill. We had, in my opinion, such a mild early spring, with no surprising late frosts or freezes, that all of my other fruits are covered. First year for my currants to give me fruit and do so well , my honeyberries produced a bit more...my poms are covered in blooms, figs did not get hit hard...peaches, plums, even my grapes have clusters. Maybe I just need to feed them.

I know, when grown in the ground, they like a healthy load of manure spread around the bush every year. They also like to be mulched and kept moist.

As far as pollination, most gooseberry varieties are self-pollinating, but they do benefit from pollen from another variety to produce more fruit. I've always grown two varieties side by side, so I can't tell if that helped or not.

6-7 years and not producing... I would have gotten rid of it by now. IME, if it's a good variety suitable for your climate, it will produce something in the second year. If not, it's not likely that it will work out. Most of the time. If you want to grow gooseberries, and I think you should, they are delicious, I would research which varieties would be good for your climate and get one or two varieties. Knowing what variety you have makes it a lot easier to troubleshoot any problems too. Good luck!

 

[ktrain]

You guys down South have a very tricky climate for cold-weather crops. Very warm/hot days that trick these plants into waking up and flowering way too early, followed by freezing or frosty nights, are a recipe for disaster. You may need to use some sort of protection or shuffling.

Large pots are the way to go. All of my long-term plants go into 20-gallon pots after I evaluate them and see if I like the variety. These two gooseberries (Hinnomaki and Invicta), which are in their 3rd year, are definitely keepers and will be up-potted this summer. I also found another promising variety, Black Velvet, which I will be adding next year.

That very true, a lot of the reason I stopped growing stone fruits that aren't self pollinating.
I blame mother nature...she plays the good weather bad weather games on us. Lol

Yours look really nice.
Hopefully I'll at least get to eat the few that are left.

 

[Smokymist]

I know, when grown in the ground, they like a healthy load of manure spread around the bush every year. They also like to be mulched and kept moist.

As far as pollination, most gooseberry varieties are self-pollinating, but they do benefit from pollen from another variety to produce more fruit. I've always grown two varieties side by side, so I can't tell if that helped or not.

6-7 years and not producing... I would have gotten rid of it by now. IME, if it's a good variety suitable for your climate, it will produce something in the second year. If not, it's not likely that it will work out. Most of the time. If you want to grow gooseberries, and I think you should, they are delicious, I would research which varieties would be good for your climate and get one or two varieties. Knowing what variety you have makes it a lot easier to troubleshoot any problems too. Good luck!

good idea..