Description
Invicta is the gooseberry people plant when they want volume. The berries are large and pale green, carried in quantity on a very vigorous, spreading bush.
Timing decides what you get. Picked green and firm, the berries are sharply tart and are exactly what jam, pie and chutney want. Left on until they turn golden and soften a little, the same berries eat sweet off the bush. The thorns are long, so bring gloves.
Overview
- Large pale green berries, carried in quantity.
- Pick green for tart cooking, golden for sweet fresh eating.
- Very vigorous and spreading; thorny, so gloves at picking.
- Self-fertile, and heavy cropping once established.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes uva-crispa ‘Invicta’
Site and Soil: Full sun to part shade; rich, well drained soil, pH 6.0 to 7.0
Hardiness: Hardy to USDA Zone 3
Rootstock: Grown from cuttings
Bearing Age: Light crop the first year; full crops by year 3 or 4
Size at Maturity: Vigorous and spreading, about 4 to 5 ft tall and wide
Ripening Time: Early to mid season for a gooseberry; June into July
Pollination: Self-fertile; a single bush sets a full crop
Pests & Diseases: Strong resistance to powdery mildew, short of immunity; currant worm strips leaves from the inside out
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Pick the same bush twice: once green for the preserving pan, then again a few weeks on once the berries left behind have gone golden and sweet.
- Regional Insight: Gooseberries perform best where summers stay cool to moderate, from the Upper Midwest and New England to the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states.
- Explore more berries in our collection: Berries
