Sierra gooseberry

Photo: USFS Region 5 — CC BY 2.0 · source

Survives zone 6 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

A wild Sierra Nevada gooseberry that foragers rate genuinely excellent — sweet-tart, good fresh or for jelly and syrup — but very spiny stems make harvest slow going.

Hardiness

Zone 6–9

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

June–Aug

Mature size

Spiny deciduous shrub 0.6–1.5 m

Light

Full sun to partial

Soil pH

6.0–7.0

Environment

Montane

Native range

California's mountain ranges (chiefly the Sierra Nevada), extending into Nevada and southern Oregon, 0-9,200 ft.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

1–2 yrs

Growth speed

Fast, though slower after low-severity fire due to competition.

Spacing

120 cm (47 in) apart — about 1.4 m² (16 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Small (to 2.5 cm), hairless to hairy or woolly, divided into 3–5 rounded, toothed lobes.

Root system

Spreads by root-crown sprouting and layering; roots reach at least ~41 cm deep.

Fruit description

Berries 1.4–2.5 cm across, red or purple when ripe, densely covered in stout spines and gland-tipped bristles.

Propagation

Seed, cold-stratified 3-5 months at around freezing, or cuttings.

Pollination

NOT self-fertile — a controlled study found 736 self-pollinated flowers set zero fruit, while cross-pollinated flowers set fruit readily. Plant a second, genetically distinct plant.

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.