Description
Shefford came out of a Canadian breeding program in Ottawa and reached the USDA collection in 1995, which is where it was picked up and brought back into the trade. It has never been widely grown, so it is an uncommon thing to have in a garden.
The berries are large and golden yellow, sweet and crisp, and they are best appreciated straight off the bush. The canes carry few thorns if any, which makes picking and pruning easy work. Give it what any gooseberry wants: sun or part shade, rich well drained soil, and air moving around the plant.
Overview
- Large golden-yellow berries, sweet and crisp, best fresh.
- Few thorns if any; easy to pick and prune.
- An uncommon Canadian selection, rarely offered.
- Hardy and self-fertile; one bush sets a crop.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes ‘Shefford’
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: About 3 to 4 ft tall and wide
Ripening Time: Mid season for a gooseberry; 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: Yellow gooseberries reward waiting. Picked early they are sharp; the sugar arrives at the end, when the skin turns translucent.
- 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
