Description
Jahns Prairie did not come out of a breeding program. It was selected from a wild population in the Red Deer River valley of Alberta and introduced in the 1990s, so it is a native-species gooseberry with a native plant’s constitution.
The habit is the practical reason to choose it. Canes grow upright and fairly narrow with only some sprawl, so the bush holds a row or a hedge line and stays easy to walk past. The berries are large and round, green at first and ripening to reddish pink or maroon, sweet-tart and good eaten fresh at full ripeness or cooked at any stage.
Overview
- A selected wild Canadian prairie gooseberry, not a European hybrid.
- Large round berries, reddish pink when ripe, sweet-tart.
- Upright and fairly narrow; holds a row or a fruiting hedge.
- Moderately thorny; hardy and self-fertile.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Ribes oxyacanthoides ‘Jahns Prairie’
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: Upright and fairly narrow, about 4 to 5 ft tall and 3 to 4 ft 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: The upright habit is what sets this one apart in a planting: set bushes about 3 ft apart and they make a narrow fruiting hedge rather than a thicket.
- 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
