Topic: Jostaberry

[Weed-Digga]

Does anyone else grow jostaberries? Both my lottie neighbour and myself have no fruit at all on them this year. I have 2 plants in a fruit cage, everything else is coming along nicely, gooseberries, black and redcurrants, autumn rasps etc, but not a single jostaberry!!

Weed-Digga

[realfood]

Yes, I have a jostaberry and plenty of fruit forming.
They flower very early before all the other softfruits, and may have been caught with a frost where you are.

[Weed-Digga]

I am in Berkshire, so normally not too bad weather-wise. I don't remember seeing any flowers on them at all this year, maybe I pruned it wrong?

Weed-Digga

[artichoke]

My jostaberry was planted last year, has grown a lot, and has many fruits forming at the moment, in case that helps. It needs at least one year old twigs for flowering and fruiting.

[Digeroo]

I am in the same position, mine grow a lot last year and I was expecting it to ruit on last years growth like a blackurrant.  It only had a very few flowers and now only has a very few fruits.  But is is growing a large amount of new growth,

[saddad]

Just don't turn your back on it.... it gets huge...
I find it best to cut out the fruiting branches as I harvest and the new growth that follows fruits the next year...
all I can think is you cut out the "new" growth last year. You do get some fruit on the older wood but not as much...  :-\

[Digeroo]

I certainly did not cut out the new growth last year.   I had three nice new branches which I was expecting to fruit.

Mine is certainly showing signs of becoming huge.  It will get one more chance then then if it does not fruit next year it will get the big E.

I would normally wonder whether it was getting enough food but it sprouting branches like there is no tomorrow.

It was moved at the wrong time last year, so perhaps that upset it.

[saddad]

Mine have never failed to fruit... but tolerate benign neglect... perhaps a late frost (but mine don't seem prone to frost damage) or as you say moving it upset it...  :-X

[Palustris]

Well we certainly get late frosts here, like last night even and I have only removed pieces which were going over the paths and our bushes are  smothered in fruits. (Thanks Jennym). Only hope the birds leaves us some.

[peewit]

I bought 1 about 5 years ago & nearly chucked it out, as I got hardly any fruit, but last year it shot up to about 8' and cropped well.  This year it's covered in fruit.  I prune it almost as hard as a blackcurrant. It flowers a bit after the red & white currants, planted next to it.  The fruit is nice - not as strong as blackcurrants - needs the old flower removed, like a gooseberry.  Tedious!  Freezes well.  Advantages:  no big bud or prickles, disadvantages - slightly boring, don't know why it sulked, and getting rid of the old flower remnants. Maybe 3/5.
I live 500' above the Channel in Kent - cold & windy winters, but rarely late frosts.   It is growing on the N side of a 6' fence, house wall to the east, gets p.m. sun. Very fertile soil, but dry - and this year no rain since March until 2 nights ago.  But the fruit are swelling well.

[realfood]

I never remove the remnants of the old flower petals on Jostas or blackcurrants for that matter. It does not affect the eating experience and life is far too short!

[Weed-Digga]

Thanks for all the replies, I don't think it was a frost, I probably pruned it wrong, I just chopped off the bits that were poking out of the fruit cage or crossing the path. They have loads of new growth on them, I will wait and see what they do next year as they take up too much room in the fruit cage if they are not going to be productive.

Weed-Digga

[pumkinlover]

I had some about ten years ago but found that after first two years being very productive it all went downhill and nothing happened for several years. I'm not sure if I knew what to do pruning wise back then :-\ so it may have been my fault. I was not particularly impressed with the taste either and they took up a huge amount of space.