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I have three gooseberry bushes and I'd like to increase these. Can they be grown from cuttings and when is the best time to take cuttings, I'm hoping I can start some off in the spring. Same question also for my blueberry bushes, you can never have too many blueberries :D

My goosegogs, I do hard wood cuttings, cut bout 6" off, stick them in ground and they sprout. They also layered themselves too! They Like reproducing, I think. :-X
No idea but blueberries, but imagine very similar.
Good luck
Lots

i have propagated blackcurrants, redcurrants and goosberries through cuttings but never this late. around here best time is considered september/october.
if i were you i would try it anyway. as soon as possible.
take cuttings from shoots that have grown this year. 15-25 cm. cut about 1 cm below a bud and 1 cm above a bud. take off leaves if there are any left.  make the lower cut at an angle and the top one straight across so you do not plant them the wrong way round.
plant 15 cm apart so that the top  two buds show. plant a few more than you´ll need.during next season weed annd water. next autumn transplant the nicest ones.

Take gooseberry cuttings now; nice long ones for preference. I shove them in a big pot and leave it in the shade; they root quite easily.

Thank you, I'll get some cuttings next time I visit the allotment :)

I pruned my gooseberries last week ....

Did you keep the cuttings Derek?

I didnt because there was no need ... I have a few bits of pruning still to do, and may put some cuttings in anyway. I am hoping to acquire a jostaberry at some point, this is rather exciting ...

I'll be doing my pruning over the next few days, and I'll be pitting some in as cuttings. Bit by bit, I'm replacing all my old gooseberries and currants with new gooseberries. The family don't like currants anyway.

I propagate gooseberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant from hardwood cuttings over the winter period, from Dec through to Feb. These are dormant straight stems, with buds on.
For those that haven't done this, I tend to trim the cuttings square below a bud, and slightly sloped above a bud to a length of about 15cm (6") for gooseberry and redcurrant, longer for blackcurrant. I take cuttings from a stem which has grown during the previous season and is pale in colour, and has at least 5 or 6 buds along it.
I make up a mix of soil and compost, and 50% fine grit in a 6-8" pot and submerge half a dozen cuttings covering 3-4 buds, with 2-3 buds above. Leave for around 6 months, outdoors is fine, keeping the soil just moist. they will put out new leaves before they root, so don't be tempted to disturb them too soon. Alternatively, you can just stick them into the soil, and see what happens! Often they take, but if you do it in a pot you have the opportunity to plant out without disturbing the roots too much.
Gooseberry can also be propagated by layering, that is if you bend down a long whippy branch and peg it into the soil, making sure that some buds or the tip are submerged, it will often take root and when a good root system has built up, you can cut it from the mother plant. Some varieties of gooseberry have naturally floppy stems, and often tips will self root where they touch the soil.
I understand that blueberry can be propagated by hardwood cuttings taken in the dormant period, but like a little bottom heat, and intend to try this next winter.

Thanks for all that information jennym. :)

Do gooseberries have a period of prime fruiting before yields decline with age? And if so, at roughly what age do they become old and decrease their yield of fruit?

I'd say around 10 - 15 years personally - gooseberries are a bit like a little tree!

Oh that's good, longer than I thought, thanks jennym :)

I am educated too, thank you  :)

Thanks for the info jennym, I have copied your instructions into my scrap book ...

now all I have to do is find some kind folk up the lotties to give me some cuttings!!!  ;D