I would also be interested in optimizing the yields.
This plant doesn’t seem to interest the more problematic wildlife and seems more sunlight/heat tolerant than the currants so far.
2 Likes
Exactly. That’s why I dug mine up and put it through the wood chipper.
3 Likes
My understanding is Jostaberry needs a blackcurrant and/or gooseberry for proper pollination. Also, I think (but am not certain) that their pruning needs are a bit different. What I recall reading is that they much prefer to fruit on last year’s whole new shoots, rather than on new secondary branches. That could also be inaccurate…
4 Likes
Jostaberries don‘t taste quite as good either black currants or gooseberries, but they still very good for what they are. They are vigorous uncomplicated plants with high yields. They are excellent for processing and good choice for any berry patch nonetheless. More variety means more risk distribution, and in bad fruit years one might be thankful for a good jostaberry harvest. I have around 10 of them in my food forest and never regretted having them
5 Likes
No, it is self-fertile. Bees really love visiting it and work energetically, preferring it over, for example, the adjacent pear and cherry. In my case, black currant flower a bit later (they overlap a bit).
Yes, it’s inaccurate (in my experience); look at this (even on two years old):
There are probably 20 shoots like this on the bush (2 here held together)
8 Likes
How old are your bushes? I read something that they take awhile to get going with good production? Did yours take awhile?
1 Like
No, they start fruiting quickly, but the bushes are small at first, so there isn’t much yield. How old? I don’t remember, older than 7 years.
2 Likes
And actually, even though I’ve propagated the original plant into several new ones, one large bush is enough for my home needs.
3 Likes
@no07 Beautiful jostaberry. And so productive. Wish I knew your secret! I decided to work on my Jostaberry bush today. Whether right or wrong, I don’t know, but what I have been doing in the past isn’t working to increase production, so why not try something different.
I cut out some of the thicker, older branches at the base, and then I trimmed about a foot off the newer tall branches.
I fertilized it this year and perhaps this caused too much vegetative growth at the expense of fruit. So next spring I will not fertilize it. We shall see what happens. I am determined to make that thing fruit well, because I really like the berries, they are good size, there are no thorns, and the shrub is attractive and upright.
Sandra
4 Likes
Jostaberry whisperer.
2 Likes
My josta overlap with Currants and Gooseberries in my yard I believe. I’ll try trimming it a bit and see if next year is different.
3 Likes
My Jostas are fairly productive. My biggest issue with their productivity has been pollination. They bloom early here before bees are fully active. I hand pollinated this year and doubled my production.
3 Likes
I don’t do much; in the first few years, I cultivated the soil around; afterward, I just layer mown grass and compost, along with some moderate pruning – I remove older branches and shorten a portion of the new ones. There are quite a few beehives in the neighborhood, so there’s no lack of pollination.
(edit)
Same with black currants, a bit more pruning.
1 Like
1 Like
One more thing - a few years back, I grafted a gooseberry onto one of the shoots, out of curiosity and as an experiment. It looks good, the branch is heavily loaded.
4 Likes
Unfortunately it has proven to be quite susceptible to WPBR in my area so I will have to remove them (Christmas Tree country), but htis year was the first year I’ve been able to taste them. So far, I haven’t quite gotten to ripe, but it should be over within the next couple weeks. I pruned out a lot of the affected topgrowth, which seems to have served the middle-sized one well but done significant damage to the largest. My smallest still hasn’t gotten to fruiting size and seems to be least affected.
I have found them very slow to get to flowers or fruit, and I do not recall if they were grafter or own root, which I suspect accounts for a lot of the variability in fruiting, growth, and disease resistance.
I like the not quite ripe ones’ potential enough that I suspect I will really enjoy my few fruits.
I would encourage everyone who tries something new to remember that some things just are not at full potential in their first few fruiting seasons. Plants go through adolescence a lot like we animals do, including cute and awkward phases and phases where they only think they know what they are doing.
4 Likes
I just ate my first properly ripened jostaberry, and it was fantastic! Like a sweet, fully ripened dessert gooseberry with a bit of blackcurrant musk. Looking forward to more in future years.
10 Likes