Duly went along and bought cheap Aldi (dry rooted) fruit bushes. They came as a 3-in-1 packet consitoing of a Gooseberry (clearly identifiable as it'd been stained yellow); Raspberries (Malling Admiral I think) and Ben Lomond Black currant. The latter two weren't labelled in the packet and both look exactly the same to my untrained eye so I've no idea how to separate them out. Can anyone help before I just plant them altogether?
Gooseberry - Multi stemmed shrub covered in nasty thorns.
(http://www.plantsforhedges.co.uk/lg_images/Gooseberry_Hinnonmaki_green.jpg)
Blackcurrant - Multi stemmed shrub, similar to the gooseberry but without thorns.
(http://www.plantsforhedges.co.uk/lg_images/Blackcurrant_Ben_Lomond%5B2%5D.jpg)
Raspberry - Single straight stem may have some thorns but not particularly sharp.
(http://www.blagger.co.uk/wp-content/2009-raspberry-canes.jpg)
I bought the other pack with Raspberries, Redcurrant and Red gooseberry but am also having trouble deciding which the raspberries and which one is the redcurrant. I was planning to pot them up and waiting for some true leaves to grow to be able to tell the difference...........but it would be great if anyone could help me identify them :D
That's great! Thanks for the pics. The 'single' v multistemmed' definition clears it up! Brilliant!
Only problem is that the gooseberry from Aldi is just a prickly twig, single stem. There are three raspberries and one currant, which basically has smoother leaf covers than the raspberries. In my packs the blackcurrant was smaller and thinner than the raspberries.
In my packs i got two sepparate types the currants have clear buds up the stem and are a greyish mud colour, the raspberries dont and are a warm brown colour.
x sunloving
Thanks for the replies, but after looking and looking at them - and they are only just beginning to bud - I decided to pot them up.
I am planning to give the redcurrant to a friend so need to make sure which one it is ;D
You may have to wait until it fruits then, lol
The other way to distinguish between red and blackcurrants is to smell them. Blackcurrant bushes do smell of the fruit, whereas reds don't really smell of anything. I hope that, even with pretty small, dormant bushes, you can get enough of a whiff to detect what you're dealing with! ;D
I had four plants in the pack that I've got, but hard to tell between them I'll agree. I think I've got a sinle raspberry, but hard to tell what else. Fingers crossed that I've got two blackcurrants and one red raspberry... I've put them all in pots cos I might be moving this year... will be checking again tomorrow as I'd like some more blackcurrants
chrisc