Even faster than starting Physalis seeds in May is digging up this year’s plant, trimming back the stems to 3", and overwintering pot in frost free setting. Similar to tomatoes, even a portion of the stem that touches the ground often has incipient roots.
This past year fruiting from Lucie’s Goldenberry transplants started in early July while fruiting from March-seeded plants started in late August. But my cool summer PNW is not comparable to rest of US.
Since no frost yet, fruiting has continued has till this week. I’ve got cuttings in ghouse ready to go for next year and inground plants mulched in case temps do not drop to below 25. Unlikely!
But problem still remains with (cherry fruit worm?) pest emerging in June and present till the end of July. The later- fruiting plants, the seed-started ones, were less affected but had much fewer days of productivity than overwintered plants.
Next year will be trying Surround, DE, and nighttime reemay to see if I can foil this fruit-eating pest. @hobilus has done a lot of work on identifying this pest. Check out his physalis posts.
I like this fruit so much I’m determined to figure out how to get a bumper crop.
I know Unripe Black Nightshade Berries can still ripen even after frost. I’ve seen it happen. It’s not far-fetched to assumed that’s what can happen too. Definitely try experimenting with them next time, I’d be curious as to your results.
WOW! So just like with Overwintering Peppers? This is EPIC! Plus it insures you have the exaxt same genetic plant to plant out. Also does an Over-Wintered Physalis yield more when compared to Seed Sown Plants? I’ve heard it works that way with Peppers. Does it make a difference whether you have an annual or Perennial species of Physalis?
if i had anymore windows to put them in, id do the same thing. i probably had 12 cape gooseberry come up this summer around my goumi bush. initially there were more but i thinned them hard. they grew well with no care. probably due to goumi n fixing.
Ive noticed some of the endemic perennial types look a bit different than you might expect when ripe. With some, the fruit still appears green even when the calyx is fully dried. The inside is more orange on these, but not brightly so.
Id say Physalis are way more easily overwintered than peppers. They flower very soon after regrowing, so they start yielding asap vs seed grown. Also, the vigor is checked quite a bit. Probably the early fruiting/flowering is partially responsible. Ive had peruvianas for 3-4 seasons, no problem. Ive tried annual Physalis once or twice but it was not successful.
Nice! And that also means it’s a good way to preserve the exact variety. Does the overwintered Physalis also make a good rootstock to graft other Physalis onto? Just wonder what’s the best way to go about grafting it.
very interesting, so basically the hormonal balance focus is shifted towards fruit producion & away from growth & leaf production?
Incredible! You’d prune them back the same way you would peppers, only easier right? So the Annual Physalis are true to their word & actually annual thus overwintering them won’t work right?
Also does it make more sense to root a cutting rather dig up a whole plant since Physalis root at stems so easily? Or maybe combine both digging up a plant & rooting the cuttings your prune off as backup plan or for more plants?
These are my P. peruvianas that overwintered in the ground. For me at least, the overwintered plants are more vigorous than they were last year when I started them from seed as well as being more vigorous than the seedlings that have popped up around them. Last winter was pretty mild though and they barely even frosted back.
Agree that they are much easier than peppers to overwinter, even compared to C. pubescens which usually gets devoured by snails here. Yield is definitely higher, and I would have had fruit every month this year had I not cut the plants back pretty hard in the spring.
Started growing then from seed from Trader Joes fruit. Was apprehensive at first, but got a decent crop this year despite not a lot of effort. Usually grow tomatillos and ground cherries. Have some in pots and in the ground, definitely 30F they struggle. Potted next to house doing the best.
Overall, mine were better tasting than TJs, harvesting when ripe is almost always better, will see how well the do over winter. Will grow them next year no matter what, having it be a perennial would be nice.
For the life of me I can’t get the really good variety to yield much in the ground outside. By the time it really starts cranking the cold air is upon us. The ones I keep in the greenhouse produce ripe fruit well into December. I’d like to give one a permanent spot in the ground inside the greenhouse, but the citrus and avocados take precedence.
@jsteph00921
For me both seed-sown and cutting-grown transplants of Lucie’s Goldenberry eventually reach 6 feet with growth like indeterminate tomatoes. But unlike tomatoes, they start flowering soon after transplant and only slow down in the (rarely reaching 80) heat of the summer. The plants continue to fruit till frost (which we haven’t had yet!).
Makes me wonder whether your normal spring/summer heat stalls out your plants? Perhaps a more shaded, cooler outdoor location would do better. Or even grown under a shade cloth.
What varieties are you growing?
Lucie’s Goldenberry from https://www.farmacieisolde.com has proven the best for me- 1" diameter and very citrusy sweet. Schoenberg Gold is a sweet larger variety, about 1.5", but is about 3 weeks too late for me, bumping up against end of season.
I have more of a problem with scale than mites. For me using any kind of oil (neem or horticultural) in the winter season results in sticky leaves, eventually covered with black sooty mold.
For scale, soapy water spray every two weeks works wonders. I even bought an 18volt Ryobi sprayer just for the ghouse. You can really get all around the plants with its long wand. Makes spraying so much easier.
90s didn’t slow down any of my groundcherries. In fact, the only time mine stopped producing was when I ripped them from the ground (sharing a pest with tomatoes and peppers really sucks). They even survived and continued to ripen fruit during the couple of 100° days we had. I don’t know if they produced new flowers on the really hot days, but they did in the low/mid 90s days.
I do have different species though (I don’t like p. peruviana and didn’t have my p. pruinosa yet). We are also pretty humid during the summer, get lots of rain and have a very long growing season. So not sure how they handle a dry heat or how those particular species will handle our summer.
My p. minima or p. grisea aren’t native (although I can’t seem to find a reliable source that says where they are native to). However I do have some native groundcherries, p. angustifolia and p. Waltari. Neither have flowered yet, so I haven’t had the fruit yet.
@sharq
From your positive experience with p.grisea and p.minima in S. Central Florida, the temperature requirements for different species of physalis must vary considerably.
It sure seems that way. Our days are above those temps most days even now in late December, so not sure how p. peruviana would do here. I did read from an article I’ll link below that they only flower in spring and fall. Usually when I see plants with double crops like that, it means it doesn’t flower when days are too long (and can’t in winter time due to the cold). It also advises 50% shade if temps will reach over 85°. So people in warmer climates should keep them in at least half shade.
Do you mean pineapple ground cherries? The kind that grow as a creeping vine, have prolific fruit yields and are widely available as starts for sale at most nurseries?
If so, I have lots of those growing here and the heat never diminishes their fruit yields for me either. I only ever bought one start, four years ago, and now I have countless volunteer ground cherries popping up all over the property. These produce more fruit than I can use. My favorite recipe is ground cherry chutney with mango, various spices and sweet onions. So yummy!
Unfortunately, despite how good they are for cooking, the pineapple ground cherries aren’t the physallis variety I covet for fresh eating. The varieties I prefer aren’t ground creepers, but instead grow upright with a bushy habit. They also produce much larger, more flavourful fruit. One variety I grow makes fruit about the size of a globe grape and tastes like a citrusy, honey apricot. They are just outstanding! I only get a smattering of fruit, most of it after labor day. I had been under the impression that the growing season wasn’t long enough, but now I’m having to consider that the culprit might be the heat.
Hopefully these other cultivars that Chris suggested will have better yields for this location! They are easy to winter over in a container if you dig it up and protect from frost. Cuttings root easily in water too, even during winter, so that’s another way to get a jump on the growing season.
The desert kings are leafing out for me too. Besides myself, several others will be so pleased to have one. You will really enjoy those white Marseilles figs.The brebas are abundant and very good!
I’ll definitely invest in that sprayer. The hand pump gets tiresome.
So no dormant oil at all, huh? Any particular brand of soap that you favor? I’ve been using Dr, Bronners peppermint soap with neem oil. It would be great if I don’t need to use the oil too. Neem is not cheap and spraying in the greenhouse is a must. Learned that the hard way.
Forgot to answer one question. I’m not sure what varieties I’m growing.
One is from seeds Winn gave me. He told me they came from a package of grocery store fruit.
Another I got at a nursery in Salem. Didn’t specify the type.
There is also one that doesn’t seem to know if it wants be a vine or a bush. Looks a little like both. The fruit is much bigger and more acidic than the typical pineapple ground cherries sold as starts in nurseries.
I don’t think so. For what I can find, pineapple ground cherries is p. pruinosa. I’ve started some this fall, but haven’t gotten to test their heat tolerance yet. The ones I was talking about were my sunberries (p. minima). Short but upright, about a foot and a half tall, single stem, forms a canopy. Very prolific, but small fruit, about the size of an everglades tomato. Sometimes the have a berry taste, but usually they just taste like a pungent tomato, I plan on making a yellow salsa with them.
Other than the two native groundcherries I got from native nurseries, I have never seen any at a nursery. So I can’t be sure they aren’t the same thing. But the bigger fruiting ones are the cape gooseberries/goldenberries (p. peruviana). They are shrubby and have fruit almost the size of a tomatillo. They sell them at Publix and Winn-Dixie here. I do not like them.
There are lots for sure. I also grow the Chinese lantern for decoration. my preference is definitely for those fruits that have elevated sour to balance the sweet. Sweet with no sour begins to feel too bland, no zing. The pineapple ground cherries sold widely at nurseries on the west coast suffer from that. That’s why I really only use her for cooking.
