Description
Black Velvet is a gooseberry with a flavor that surprises people: its dark red berries taste more like blueberry and Concord grape than like a classic gooseberry, on a vigorous, easy-care bush.
The bush itself is vigorous and upright, spined rather than smooth-caned, so long sleeves make picking easier. It is self-fertile, setting a full crop of fruit from a single plant each summer.
Give it full sun to part shade and rich, well-drained soil, and Black Velvet rewards you with a heavy crop of deep-colored berries, good fresh, in jam, or baked into a pie, with a flavor all its own among gooseberries.
Overview
- Dark red berries with flavor notes of blueberry and Concord grape.
- Vigorous, upright bush that bears reliably once established.
- Self-fertile; one bush sets a full crop without a partner.
- Spined canes; long sleeves make picking easier.
- Ripens in early to midsummer for fresh eating or preserves.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes ‘Black Velvet’
Site and Soil: Full sun to part shade; rich, well-drained soil, pH 6.0 to 7.0, with good airflow
Hardiness: Hardy to USDA Zone 3
Rootstock: Grown from cuttings
Bearing Age: Light crop the year after planting; full crops by the third or fourth year
Size at Maturity: Vigorous and upright, about 4 to 5 ft tall and wide
Ripening Time: Mid season for a gooseberry; June into July
Pollination: Self-fertile; a single bush sets a full crop
Pests & Diseases: Powdery mildew; currant worm strips leaves from the inside out
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Black Velvet’s berries taste more like blueberry and Concord grape than gooseberry, which makes them a favorite with anyone who finds classic gooseberry flavor too sharp.
- Regional Insight: Gooseberries thrive in cool-summer regions nationwide, from New England and the Upper Midwest to the Pacific Northwest, wherever summer heat stays moderate.
- Explore more berries in our collection: Berries
