Friday 25 July 2014

A Thorny Issue

You may remember my In Disguise post about the gooseberry bush I bought a couple of years ago. It was labelled as Pax, a red, thornless variety, and it has produced its first ever fruit this year, only a couple of gooseberries but I'm hoping for better results in the future.

Before we went away on holiday, the fruit was green and there were plenty of thorns to be seen so I wondered if the plant had been labelled incorrectly, however, this is what greeted us when we returned from Cornwall.


The berries had turned red and there was just enough to have a taste.


Perhaps it is Pax afterall, though it does have thorns whereas Pax is known as a thornless variety. It isn't as thorny as the green variety I've got on the plot so maybe I'm expecting too much and thornless varieties will still have some thorns, just not as many as usual.


I think it's time to get it out of its container now and find some room for it on the plot.

30 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 25, 2014

    At least it has red fruit but for a thornless variety they are fearsome looking thorns! Flighty xx

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    1. They sure are. Who knows what it actually is, but it definitely isn't thornless.

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  2. Wowsers, those are definitely some mighty thorns even if there are less than usual!! I hope that the fruit is lovely. xx

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    1. These thorns are nothing compared to the green variety I have at the allotment. There wasn't really enough fruit on the plant to really taste but it seems nice enough from the small amount I did try, I'm hoping to get a better idea next year.

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  3. Our Pax has thorns too and so I too thought it was the wrong variety.

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    1. I think we probably have got the right variety, just that thornnless varieties do come with some thorns. At least it won't be quite as difficult to pick the fruit as it would usually, the thorns don't seem quite as bad.

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  4. Fruit in the second year bodes well for a good crop next year, Jo! I planted a Hinnonmaki Red goosegog last year, a tiny little twig of a plant and it's certainly grown well but no fruit … this year, at least. Can you taste the prickles on the fruit? The berry looks quite challenging to eat!

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    1. Let's just say that it's a funny, fuzzy texture, they're more hairy than prickly. Fingers crossed that we both get a good crop next year.

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  5. I used to grow Pax and some bushes had a few thorns, some had none. The fruit is delicious and more went into my mouth than into the house some days.

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    1. I think this probably has been labelled correctly and it is Pax, even though it has some thorns. I didn't have much fruit to try this year but what I did eat was quite sweet, I was expecting it to be rather tart so it was a nice surprise.

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  6. I have never seen a red gooseberry before what a gorgeous colour. Gooseberries thorns are nasty things aren't they I always get scratched to bits when picking ours :)

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    1. I think the red gooseberries look more appetising than the green ones, I'm looking forward to having more fruit to try so that I can give it a proper taste test. I thought a thornless variety would be a good choice because, as you say, gooseberries have very nasty thorns, but it doesn't look as though I've avoided them completely.

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  7. Wow, that's so interesting. The color is so striking. I have never known if the gooseberry does have thorns on its twig. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. The colour is really pretty, so different from the usual green variety of gooseberry. Gooseberries are usually covered in thorns, it's quite a challenge to pick the fruit.

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  8. The red gooseberries always look so inviting. I've got two enormous green gooseberry bushes at the allotment and my arms are always really badly scratched when I pick from them, they're terrible. Hopefully that red one won't be nearly as bad. CJ xx

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    1. I was left a green variety on the plot when I took it over and like you say, it's absolutely covered in thorns so I'm hoping that this red one will be easier to harvest from. I think the red varieties are prettier too, they're a lovely colour. It will be interesting to see if there's a difference in taste too.

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  9. Wow those are meaty thorns, have to be really careful collecting your crop, hopefully a bumper crop next season xcx

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    1. They look quite ferocious but they're nothing compared to the green variety, they'll still give a nasty prick though.

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  10. Gosh, that is a prickly customer.
    Gooseberries look lovely.......
    Do you remember I told you of the crop of gooseberries in my mothers garden....you will love this, the fox ate them:) Couldn't believe it, apparently they love them, and there is a fox in the area.

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    1. Wow, I wouldn't have thought that foxes like gooseberries, just goes to show, nothing in the garden is sacred.

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  11. I expect that if you get a decent number of those very handsome red fruits you won't worry too much about the odd thorn...

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    1. That's very true, the end justifies the means. I think I need to get the plant in the ground to give it all it needs to produce well next year, fingers crossed.

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  12. I love the red goosberries..they are my favourite although i have no idea what variety mine is and it has plenty of throns...sure does taste good though!!

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    1. I think the red ones definitely look more inviting than the green ones. I'm hoping for a few more fruits next year so that I can give them a better taste test.

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  13. I don't know anything about gooseberry varieties but yours do make pretty pictures.
    Cheers,
    Kat

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    1. I think the red varieties are so much prettier than the green ones, except for the thorns.

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  14. A most attractive colour Jo so I hope that it tasted as good as it looks. Will definitely reward you for having its feet in the ground. My goosegogs started off as tiny cuttings from another plot holder but after about five years are now quite substantial bushes. This was the best year so far for fruit :)

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    1. They're a gorgeous colour. What I tasted was lovely but it was only a tiny taste, I'm reserving judgement until I've got a bit more to sample. Glad to hear your fruit has done well for you this year, that's what it's all about.

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  15. Now doesn't that look lovely, I bet it tastes gorgeous too!xxx

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    1. It is quite attractive, isn't it? It tasted good, but there wasn't really enough fruit to give a proper opinion, hopefully I'll have more next year.

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