Gooseberry 'Xenia'Ribes uva-crispa

These plants are lifted from the nursery field when dormant, and sent to you in late autumn or spring for planting. They often look dead on arrival, but they are just resting in the dormant period and will establish quickly for a strong start in the garden come spring. Set out in prepared soil in holes wide enough and deep enough to lay out the roots. Tread down the planting soil to knock out air pockets. Water well to settle. Apply a mulch to protect roots from cold temperatures. If conditions prevent immediate planting, set roughly into loose soil or a pot of compost (‘heeling in’) to protect the roots. Set these at the same level as they were in the nursery field – you should see a soil line at the base of the stem. Stake trees, taller shrubs and roses to prevent root disturbance.

Water well for the first year until plants are fully established. When growing gooseberries, the soil must not dry out during hot periods, particularly while the fruit is being formed. Remove any suckers from the base of the plant as they arise. Netting the bushes will help to protect the currants from birds. Harvest some gooseberries for cooking and freezing in May, leaving the remaining fruit to ripen fully in June for eating fresh from the bush.

Prune gooseberry plants in winter. Remove dead, damaged and crossing stems, before thinning the remaining stems to create an upright open bush. Shorten the remaining stems by half. In spring apply a mulch of well rotted manure or garden compost to the soil.

Seeds and garden supplies will normally be delivered within the time period stated against each product as detailed above. Plants, bulbs, corms, tubers, shrubs, trees, potatoes, etc. are delivered at the appropriate time for planting or potting on. Delivery times will be stated on the product page above, or in your order acknowledgement page and email.

Orders for packets of seed incur a delivery charge of £2.99.

Orders which include any other products will incur a delivery charge of £6.99.

Where an order includes both packets of seeds and other products, a maximum delivery charge of £7.99 will apply - regardless of the number of items ordered.

Large items may incur a higher delivery charge - this will be displayed in your shopping basket.

Please see our Delivery page for further details, and more information on different charges that may apply to certain destinations.

For more information on how we send your plants please visit our Helpful Guide on plant sizes.