Prune Gooseberry Bushes Like This To Produce A Much Bigger Crop Overall
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
IN THIS GUIDE
Gooseberries are incredibly easy plants to grow and can offer an abundance of fruits which can be used in a wide range of different ways.
I find them one of the most valuable and abundant fruit bushes to grow in my forest garden as they fruit well, even in dappled shade.
Gooseberries really don’t require a huge amount of work.
You don’t necessarily have to spend time on their care and pruning is certainly not essential, but learning how to prune gooseberries properly can be a very good idea.
“I find that pruning gooseberries helps to produce a much bigger crop overall, with much bigger berries than leaving bushes unpruned,” says Colin Skelly, a Horticultural Consultant.
“It is also much easier to get in amongst the spiny branches to harvest if there is space between them.”
Correct pruning is of threefold importance:
- First, gooseberry bushes can get overgrown in a haphazard and even tangled-up way and, therefore, can look very unkempt.
- Second, such overgrown and unkempt bushes are much more susceptible to diseases like powdery mildew and pests like aphids.
- And third, they produce a smaller crop than they would if they were correctly pruned.
Read on for more information about pruning gooseberries in their first year, and on an ongoing basis to create different forms.
Formative Pruning
Gooseberry plants can be purchased while young or propagated from existing plants.
They can be grown more naturally in bush form, or trained into a range of space-saving or decorative shapes.
Grafted or budded plants can also be purchased which give gooseberries a standard form, with a tree-like main stem below the bushy area.
If you purchase a young gooseberry plant that has not been trained already in a specific way, then in the first year after planting you should undertake formative pruning to achieve the desired shape down the line.
If you wish to grow gooseberries in a natural bush form, then in the first part of spring the year after you have planted your gooseberry, you should prune to create a well-balanced and open framework of branches.
Choose 5 main branches to retain as the main framework and cut all other growth off at the base.
Prune the stems you have selected to form the main framework back to around 15-20cm in length.
These stems should ideally lean out from one another, leaving an open centre to the plant, which will allow light to penetrate the centre of the plant and also make harvesting a little easier.
If you wish to train a gooseberry as a cordon plant or have purchased a young cordon gooseberry plant with one main growing stem and short side shoots, this can be a great space-saving idea.
With this type, in the first year you should remove around a quarter or the main stem, cutting it off just above one of the buds.
Next, cut off any side shoots that are within 15cm of the surface of the soil on the lowest portion of the stem.
Finally, prune all the side shoots to leave just 1-2 buds.
Pruning In Bush Form
From the plant’s second year onwards, a bush gooseberry should ideally be pruned between Mid-June and July.
Look for the current season’s fresh young growth and on all of this except that required to increase the length of the main framework branches, cut back to around 5 leaves.
Pruning in this way won’t remove any fruit because fruit forms mainly on older wood rather than the growth of the current season.
Then, in winter, carry out maintenance pruning to get rid of any dead, damaged or diseased material and any low-lying stems.
It is also a good idea to shorten the tips of the branches by 25%, cutting to a suitable outward-facing bud, and to prune all side shoots to leave 1-3 buds on short spurs.
While you can simply leave gooseberries to grow as they will, this will result in a tangled mess and can make harvesting a challenge.
Pruning In Standard Form
If you purchase a gooseberry that already has been created in a standard form, this will typically have a bare ‘trunk’ at the base and be like a bush on top.
These types need to be staked for support.
If you choose this type, then pruning the bushy section at the top will be the same as pruning a bush gooseberry.
Fan-Training
If you wish to fan-train a gooseberry or have purchased a plant in a fan form, pruning and training will go hand in hand.
Gooseberries can be fan trained in late winter or early spring before the buds break.
This involves placing the young plant against a wall or fence and training the stems by tying them into a support framework of wires against this structure.
Select two branches to form the main arms then erect two canes at 45° angles and tie the chosen branches to these canes.
Reduce each of these main branches to an upwards-facing bud.
As side shoots grow, select which ones you will keep and tie them into support structures.
Remove any shoots growing outwards or towards the wall or fence.
The following spring, cut back these side shoot branches by 33%, cutting to an upward-facing bud if possible.
Prune established fan-trained gooseberries in mid-summer and again in the winter to maintain their form.
In summer, cut back new shoots to leave 5-6 leaves.
In winter, cut these shoots back again to two buds to form short fruit-bearing spurs.
Pruning As Cordons
From the second year onwards, plants grown as cordons should also be pruned between June and mid-July and then again in winter during dormancy.
During the summer pruning, aim to cut back new side shoots back 5 leaves and as the main stem grows, tie it into its support.
Once the leaves have fallen, in the late autumn or winter, prune back each of these side shoots, leaving 1-2 buds on each one.
Also, prune the main growing tip by around one-third.
As soon as the cordon grows beyond its supports, or to a height that can no longer easily be harvested from, in summer, prune the growing tip to around 5 leaves from the previous year’s growth.
Then, cut back once more in the winter months.
Remember, you do not necessarily have to follow these pruning instructions, but doing so and undertaking regular pruning on your gooseberry plants can ensure abundance and good health on the plants, make harvesting much easier, and allow you to train or shape your gooseberries as required or desired.
