They are a brilliant addition to the edible garden.

Dec 18, The best time to prune gooseberries is in late winter or early in the spring when the plants are still dormant. How to Prune a Gooseberry Bush Before pruning gooseberries, wear some thick leather gloves and sterilize your pruning shears with rubbing alcohol. Prune out any dead or damaged branches on 1- 2- or 3-year limbs. Jun 19, The best time to prune a mature gooseberry bush is in late winter or early spring when the plant is dormant, just before the vigorous growth of spring when healing will be quick.

You may 98%(49). Each spring, prune away weak and crowding branches, leaving only several shoots from each year’s growth. Prune off all 3-year-old branches to make room for more fruitful, younger branches. Gooseberries produce best on 1-year wood. Branches that produced the preceding year should be removed.

Your bushes now need a twice yearly trim to keep them in shape. Summer: In the first week of July (not earlier), trim all new side-shoots down to 5 leaves. There's no need to prune the tips of the leading stems unless they have mildew. Winter: During the winter, cut back the leading stems by half of their new growth. Now shorten all the lateral side-shoots that you took down to 5 leaves in the summer: this. In the UK the best time to prune gooseberries is in the winter when the plants are dormant.

Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.

However, a number of beginner gardeners struggle to know how to select the right ‘outward facing’ buds for pruning until they have emerged. Gooseberries are really tough plants so I always prune mine in early March when the buds are just breaking.

Jan 13, Gooseberry bush after winter pruning Wood that’s up to three years old tends to be the most productive, so you ideally want a mix of stems that are one, two and three years old. Prune out the oldest stems to allow space for next summer’s new stems.

Now. Mar 31, Gooseberry bushes need to be pruned annually between late autumn and late winter when gooseberries are dormant. Pick a day when the weather’s going to be dry to reduce the risk of fungal infections. Your goal is to cut back new growth to two buds and the main shoots, known as leaders, by shrubgrinding.barted Reading Time: 8 mins.