Honey gooseberry variety: its characteristics and cultivation features

Honey gooseberry is an old, proven variety with a unique honey flavor. It attracts gardeners with its large sweet berries and the productivity of the bushes. Let's find out how to plant this gooseberry, and what problems may arise when growing it?

Honey gooseberry variety

the speed of growth and fruiting of gooseberry bushes “Honey” makes it a leader among other varieties

the taste and appearance of the berries fully justify the name of the variety “Honey”

History of variety development

The variety was bred during the USSR at the All-Russian Research Institute of Horticulture named after. Michurina. Honey gooseberry was obtained by pollination of the American variety Purman. Pollen from European varieties was used - Industry, Green Bottle, Date and Kareless.

The variety, despite its popularity among gardeners, is not included in the State Register. Information about its varietal properties and characteristics is based on brief official sources and reviews from gardeners.

It is known that gooseberries were grown in Kievan Rus since the 11th century - here the berries were called “agryz” or “bersen”. The berry came to Europe in the 16th century.

Botanical description of Honey gooseberry

The main distinguishing feature of the variety is its yellow fruits. With its color, taste, and aroma, this gooseberry is reminiscent of honey, it’s easy to guess why it is called Honey.

Bushes

The bush is vigorous, but slightly spreading. Height – 1.5 m. The branches are covered with mixed thorns. The bark is gray. There are few basal shoots, they grow straight. The leaves are small, green, with a slight shine, moderately wrinkled. The shape is three-lobed.

Berries

The fruits of the Honey Gooseberry are large. Average weight - 4.3 g, maximum - 6 g. The fruits are round or pear-shaped, with thin skin. The pulp is tender and juicy, there are few seeds. The color is initially green, and at the stage of consumer ripeness it is golden-honey. On the side facing the sun there is a tan.

Characteristics and description of bushes

Honey is a powerful, slightly spreading shrub up to 1.2–1.5 m high. The bark is gray-brown, abundantly covered with strong thorns. There is a lot of greenery, the leaf blade is three-lobed with pubescence on the underside.

The berries are round or drop-shaped, bright yellow, weighing 4.5–6.0 g. There are few seeds.

Temperature resistance

Honey has become widespread due to its hardiness - it can easily tolerate frosts down to -30°C without shelter. At even lower temperatures, it needs to be wrapped in foam rubber or burlap. In the northern regions, after autumn pruning, the branches are bent to the ground and secured with thick wire. The fallen snow will reliably protect the bush from frost.

In hot climates, Honey tolerates high temperatures up to +30°C, but requires additional watering.

Moisture and drought resistance

Gooseberries of the Honey variety grow well in moderately moist soils, but do not like soil that is too heavy and has poor drainage. Does not tolerate drought well.

Reference. Beekeepers value gooseberries as an early honey plant (the shrub blooms in the spring).

If there is a lack of moisture, the plant drops the resulting fruits. For this reason, it is not grown by agricultural enterprises in southern Russia. In private farmsteads, with regular watering, Honey produces up to 4.5–6 kg of berries per bush.

Features of honey gooseberry

Honey gooseberries are classified as dessert varieties. The fruits are very sweet, with notes of honey in taste and aroma. The sweetness of the variety may exceed one of the sweetest gooseberries - English yellow.

Honey berries contain sugars from 9.9 to 17% - the sweetness depends on the weather, the amount of sun and other factors. With proper care, the bushes live and bear fruit for 20 years.

Ripening time

The variety belongs to the mid-season group. Ripening in the middle zone occurs in mid-July. The ripening period is influenced by the climatic features of the region and specific weather conditions. Technical ripeness occurs two weeks earlier than consumer ripeness.

Productivity

Honey is a productive variety. With good agricultural technology, one bush produces about 4 kg of berries. 10-11 tons are collected from 1 hectare.

The video below provides an overview of the Honey gooseberry variety:

Sustainability

The popularity of a variety among gardeners is rarely explained by consumer qualities alone. As a rule, the varieties beloved by the people are always unpretentious and hardy. A honey-like variety, this variety is distinguished by its enviable resistance to environmental challenges.

To the drought

The variety has average drought resistance - it can tolerate short-term droughts without any special consequences for yield.

To the frost

The variety tolerates frost perfectly, especially in snowy winters. Withstands temperatures down to minus 30°C. If forty-degree frosts occur and the gooseberry bushes are not covered, there is a high probability that they will freeze.

To diseases

Like most old varieties, Honey does not have high immunity. But it is quite resistant to powdery mildew, damage to berries is 1-3%, vegetative parts are 0.3-0.7 points. True, this is only true for adult bushes; young plants can be seriously damaged by powdery mildew.

Among the diseases dangerous for Honey are gray rot and anthracnose.

To pests

The variety is not particularly resistant to pests or diseases. It is especially often affected by:

• The moth is a butterfly that lays eggs on flowers. When the berries appear, they turn red and rot.
• Shoot aphid - sucks juices from the above-ground parts of the plant. The shoots are deformed, the leaves curl.
• The sawfly is an insect that lays eggs on leaves. The larvae eat the leaves, leaving only the veins.

Planting and agricultural technology

Choose the planting period taking into account the climatic characteristics of the region. Remembering the innate heat-loving nature of the culture, choose a sunny, well-warmed place. The bush should be protected from the prevailing winter winds by a structure, a fence or dense decorative plantings. The preferred soil for Honey is light and fertile loam. Due to the tendency of the young plant to fungal diseases, the place should be dry, which means low areas where moisture and cold air accumulate, and areas where groundwater comes closer to the surface than 1.5 meters are not suitable. Be sure to carry out preventive treatments to reduce the risk of disease. If affected branches are noticed, it is better to remove them immediately and burn them. Watering is needed moderate but sufficient. It is best to carry it out at the root, in specially dug watering ditches. Fertilizing will help increase the mass of berries. There is no information anywhere about the self-fertility of the crop, but, in any case, another gooseberry bush planted nearby will improve the yield indicators. And a mandatory stage for any variety is pruning. Sanitation is carried out as needed, and thinning is best done in the spring, before the buds begin to awaken.

Honey is primarily valued for its beautiful and very tasty berries. But when it comes to care, the culture may seem too picky to some. Of course, the plant requires timely preventive treatments, proper pruning, and, if necessary, crop rationing. Moreover, sharp thorns block the path to sweet fruits. But, as they say, patience and work will help you cope with any troubles, and the gooseberry will reward you for your attention with a healthy and tasty harvest.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of the variety:

• early ripening - by mid-summer the berries reach consumer ripeness;
• large and sweet berries;
• winter hardiness;
• productivity;
• The fruits contain a lot of sugar and vitamin C.

Flaws:

• poor resistance to many gooseberry diseases;
• thorny shoots - difficult to harvest;
• demands on light, soil and care;
• the need for regular pruning.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Gardeners who have already grown the Honey variety on their plots note the following positive characteristics:
• fruits that are tasty and beautiful in appearance;
• good level of winter hardiness;
• high level of productivity.

• Unfortunately, the variety is not without significant disadvantages, including:
• strong hissing;
• weak immunity;
• the need for mandatory pruning;
• demand for care.

Productivity and fruiting

After planting, gooseberries begin to bear fruit in the third to fifth year. The fruits can be harvested from it for 25–30 years. Up to 4 kg of berries are harvested from one bush annually.

Recommendations for planting

The growth, development and fruiting of a bush largely depends on planting conditions. In order for the gooseberry to take root and develop safely, it is necessary to prepare a hole and a seedling, and then plant it, following the planting rules.

Selecting a location, timing and site preparation

Optimal conditions for the growth of Honey gooseberries:

• absence of drafts;
• flat or high terrain;
• good natural light;
• lack of shading from buildings and plantings;
• soils – neutral or slightly acidic, preferably light sandy and sandy loam.

It is advisable to plant gooseberries near a fence, wall, or on a hillside - this reduces the likelihood of powdery mildew.

It is not recommended to plant gooseberries:

• on clay and loamy soils - here the plant survives only with constant loosening;
• in lowlands and wetlands - due to constant moisture, the roots rot and the bush dies;
• on silty, peaty and loamy soils;
• in areas with high groundwater levels - less than 1.5 m.

In heavy clay soils it is necessary to add sand (1/2 bucket per 1 sq. m) and humus (1/3 bucket per 1 sq. m).

Preparing the site for planting gooseberries:

• Dig the soil to the depth of a spade bayonet. Select weeds and their roots while digging.
• When digging, apply fertilizers - organic and mineral. For 1 sq. m - 3-5 kg ​​of humus, compost or rotted manure, 200 g of wood ash, 50-60 g of superphosphate, 30 g of urea and 15 g of potassium nitrate or potassium chloride.

For one gooseberry bush you will need a plot of 4-6 square meters. m. If the soil is of low nutritional value, a mixture of mineral fertilizers and humus (compost, manure) is poured into the bottom of the planting hole.

You can plant gooseberries in early March - before the buds bloom on the bushes, or in the fall. The optimal time for autumn planting is the third ten days of September. Before the onset of frost, the seedlings must have time to take root.

Selection and preparation of seedlings

When buying seedlings, pay attention to the following points:

• The seedling should have 3-4 tap roots 30 cm long. The root system is fibrous and well developed.
• The seedling should have 2-3 branches 20-25 cm long. It is advisable to cut one to look at the cut - it should be white-green. If the cut is beige or white-brown, the seedling is not suitable.
• The bark is smooth and even, without damage, stains, or signs of disease.

The best age for a seedling is 1-2 years. Before planting, remove all dry and damaged branches, and soak the roots for 12-24 hours in a Humate solution - take 4 tbsp for half a bucket of water. l. fertilizers This soaking stimulates root formation.

You can also soak the seedling in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or in the Barrier preparation to disinfect the roots. Before planting, dip the roots in clay and manure mash; it is prepared in a 1:1 ratio. The consistency is a thick paste. The chatterbox should dry well before planting.

Planting pit

The pit is prepared a week and a half before planting. Features of the pit for gooseberry seedlings:

• The size of the hole depends on the characteristics of the soil. In loams, sandy and sandy loam soils, the depth of the hole is 35-40 cm, and the width is 50-55 cm. In heavy clay soils, the depth of the hole increases to 50-55 cm, and the width - up to 70 cm.
• If the soil is clayey or loamy, coarse river sand or gravel is placed at the bottom of the pit. The thickness of the layer is 7-8 cm. If a hole is dug in sandy soils, a layer of clay is placed on its bottom.

Step-by-step instructions for planting

If you are planting several gooseberry seedlings, observe the following intervals:

• between rows – 1.5-2 m;
• between seedlings – 1-1.5 m.

Planting a gooseberry seedling - step-by-step instructions:

• Trim the seedling prepared for planting by soaking - shorten the roots to 20 cm, and also remove all defective branches, if any.
• Place the seedling in the planting hole so that its root collar is 5-6 cm below the edge of the hole. This planting promotes accelerated growth and root formation. If the soil is light, place the seedling vertically; if it is clayey, place it slightly inclined so that it takes root better.
• Spread the roots in different directions. Fill the hole with soil to the top, to the top edge. Add soil little by little, compacting it with your hands from time to time to prevent air voids from forming. After filling the hole, compact the soil.
• Water the gooseberries, placing a bucket of water under each seedling.
• After the water is absorbed, sprinkle the tree trunk circle with humus or peat. Layer thickness – 6-7 cm.
• Trim the shoots, leaving 3-4 buds on each. If there are weakened shoots, it is better to cut them off - in winter they still run the risk of freezing (if the planting is in autumn).
• 2 weeks after planting, the seedlings will need hilling - rake the soil to the trunk. The height of the shaft is 10 cm. Sprinkle the shaft with fine sawdust on top - a layer of 10-12 cm.

Gooseberry care

Caring for gooseberries is not difficult; it is enough to carry out a minimum set of agrotechnical measures. This berry crop needs watering, fertilizing, pruning, loosening, and treatment against pests and diseases.

You can read more information about how to care for gooseberries in the fall here.

Watering

Bushes are watered only at the roots; sprinkling is unacceptable for both seedlings and adult bushes. The bulk of the roots are located at a distance of 35-40 cm from the surface. Water the bush rarely, but abundantly. Overmoistening is unacceptable.

The need for watering increases:

• during the setting of fruits and flower buds for the next year - this period lasts from the second half of May to the second half of June;
• when fruits ripen - from the second ten days of July;
• in preparation for winter - from the third ten days of September.

One adult bush requires 3-5 buckets of water. Watering frequency is once a week. Water is poured into grooves dug at a distance of half a meter from the trunk. The depth of the grooves is 12-15 cm. If it is hot, the root zone is covered with grass, sprinkled with peat or compost - to delay the evaporation of moisture.

Feeding

Gooseberries are fed at the root and by the foliar method - spraying. Table 1 shows the timing, composition and rates of fertilizers applied to the soil and sprayed over the surface of the bush.

Table 1

You cannot apply nitrogen in the fall - it provokes the growth of green mass. The plant will not have time to “fall asleep” in time and store nutrients for the winter.

Support

To prevent the berries from getting dirty and rotting, they should not be allowed to come into contact with the ground. Supports - wooden sticks or wire stretched between two posts - help prevent branches from touching the ground. The optimal distance from the support to the ground is 30 cm.

Trimming

Mature honey gooseberry bushes reach a height of 1.5 m and a width of 1.2 m. It is recommended to prune the bush every spring and autumn in order to:

• thinning the rapidly thickening crown;
• facilitating harvesting;
• cleaning up all dried branches, dead and disease-affected shoots;
• maintaining high yields.

Features and important points of pruning gooseberries:

• The most berries are produced by branches that are 5-7 years old up to the point of the 3rd branching. There are also a lot of fruits on annuals. Therefore, branches older than 7 years and their shoots of the 4th branch are pruned.
• Young shoots, 2-3 years old, do not have their tops cut off. Except when they produce small, misshapen or unsweetened gooseberries.
• Branches 8-10 years old are cut off at the very base - they will be replaced by new skeletal shoots that will bear fruit.
• In the fall, sanitary pruning is needed. The crown of the bush quickly thickens, preventing the penetration of light. Due to excessive shade and humidity, the plant can be affected by fungal and viral diseases.
• It is necessary to trim all weak, deformed, twisted branches, as well as shoots growing towards the center of the bush.

Pruning is carried out with a sharpened and disinfected tool. The sections, immediately after trimming, are treated with copper sulfate dissolved in water - 10 g in 1 liter of water, and then lubricated with garden pitch.

Loosening and weeding

They loosen and weed the circles around the gooseberries after each watering. Movements must be very careful so as not to damage the roots - they are located close to the surface. Simultaneously with loosening, all weeds are removed from the tree trunk circles.

Preparing for winter

Procedure for preparing for winter:

• Clean the tree trunk circle from fallen leaves and fruits, and dry grass. Remove broken and dried branches. Plant residues are burned - this is necessary to destroy larvae, fungi, and microbes.
• Dig up and loosen the soil. Large clumps of soil are not broken up.
• If the soil is acidic, add dolomite flour (250 g) per 1 square meter. m.
• Sprinkle the tree trunk circles with humus, peat, and sawdust.
• The branches of adult bushes are tied into a “broom” - one or several. This will prevent branches from breaking off in snowy winters.
• At the end of October, spruce branches or straw are placed near the base of the bush. The base is wrapped with covering material and tied with twine. This precaution will protect the bush - rodents will not be able to feast on the bark.

Covering is carried out in late autumn; if you rush and cover the bush in warm weather, you can harm it. Moisture will collect under the shelter and the plant will begin to rot.

Reviews

I have been growing the “Honey” variety for a long time and I can safely say that this is not the easiest crop. To get a large number of sweet berries, you need to feed the plant in a timely manner. In the spring I add urea and nitrophoska in liquid form. At 50 l. In a barrel I dilute 5 tablespoons of urea and 10 tablespoons of nitrophoska with water. I pour 2 watering cans of this solution under each bush. During the flowering period, I feed with chicken manure diluted in a ratio of 1:20 or mullein (1:10). In the fall, I scatter dry superphosphate and potassium sulfate, about 20-25 g for each bush. During the season, I constantly mulch the soil with rotted manure. I try not to make the mulch layer less than 5-10 cm. Thick mulch, in addition to protecting the soil from drying out, prevents weeds from growing.

Do not freeze fully ripe berries! One year I decided to freeze gooseberries. I picked berries as usual - the sweetest, fully ripe ones. As a result, in winter, after defrosting, the berries turned into mush and only a few that were unripe retained their shape. The next year I decided to repeat the experiment, but I already froze slightly unripe fruits. This harvest has already passed the cold test perfectly and the berries made an excellent pie.

The Honey variety is loved by gardeners for the excellent taste of berries and good yield. But to enjoy the fragrant amber gooseberry jam, you will have to make a lot of effort.

Reproduction

Methods for propagating Honey gooseberries:

• Layerings. This is the most common method of reproduction. Grooves are dug from the trunk of the bush - 15 cm deep. Young gooseberry branches are lowered into them, and then pressed with staples. There is no need to raise the tops above the soil. Very soon shoots appear.
• Cuttings. The date is mid-July. Cuttings with 5 buds are taken from this year's growths. Cuttings are planted at an acute angle.
• Dividing the bush. The breeding season is autumn. Parts of the bush often grow separately, and division does not harm the plant at all.

Brief description: pros, cons

Like any other variety, Honey gooseberry has its positive and negative sides.

Advantages of the variety:

• mid-early berry ripening;
• frost resistance (withstands up to -22 degrees);
• large berries with excellent dessert taste;
• high % of sugars and vitamin C;
• high yield.

Disadvantages of the variety

• sharp and frequent thorns;
• high demands on care;
• the need for constant pruning;
• low immunity.

To grow gooseberries of the Honey variety, you will have to try hard, since they require full compliance with agricultural technology. Easily susceptible to various diseases, especially powdery mildew.

Pest and disease control

Vulnerability to most diseases is no barrier to growing this delicious gooseberry. If you spray the bushes in a timely manner, you can prevent them from being damaged by viruses, fungi, and pests. Table 2 contains diseases that threaten Honey Gooseberries and methods of combating them; Table 3 contains pests.

table 2

Table 3

Harvesting: timing and subtleties

Two weeks before full ripening, technical ripeness occurs. Berries for compotes and jam are harvested from July 10-15. For fresh eating, the berries are picked in the morning or evening, in dry weather.

If it is known that the rains will begin soon, gooseberries are picked in advance. Then the berries will not fall off and will not rot or crack. The fruits are harvested at one time. Berries picked with stalks are placed in a small wicker container with a capacity of up to 3 liters.

Honey berries are universal - when ripe they are delicious fresh, compotes are made from unripe, greenish fruits, and jam is made from green-yellow fruits. The berries are suitable for freezing.

Gooseberries contain pectins, which help cleanse the body of toxins and waste.

Gooseberries that are to be transported over long distances are dried, spread out in one layer. All damaged berries are sorted.

The fruits have a rather thin skin, so gooseberries that have reached consumer ripeness are picked along with the stalks - their length is about 5 mm. Otherwise, the skin often tears, the fruit bursts, and becomes unsuitable for storage and transportation.

Collect gooseberries wearing leather gloves or canvas mittens - they are put on the hand with which you push the branches apart. When picking gooseberries on bushes with thorns, follow this sequence:

• Remove the gooseberries from all outer branches that you can reach without removing the support or garter.
• Remove the support so that the bush “disintegrates” - then the internal branches will become accessible.
• To pick berries from the middle of the bush, help yourself with a pitchfork.

Picking gooseberries is a difficult task. To simplify collection, gardeners come up with various devices. For example, cut off half of a pan or ladle. The teeth are attached to the cut. Having lifted the branch, they pass along it with these teeth. The disadvantage of this collection is the possibility of damage to vegetative and flower buds. If they are damaged, there will be no harvest for next year.

Gooseberry storage

The harvested crop is immediately placed in a cool place - the berries can be stored in the refrigerator, cellar, basement. But even in the most favorable conditions, berries are not stored for longer than 2-3 days.

Features of gooseberry storage:

• To increase the shelf life of berries to 12 days, they are collected 4-5 days before full ripeness. The fruits ripen within 2-3 days.
• At a temperature of 0°C and a humidity of 90%, gooseberries can be stored for up to 1.5 months. The berries are scattered in a small layer on cardboard boxes or wooden boxes.
• In refrigerators, in compartments for fruits and vegetables, berries folded in plastic bags can last 3-4 months. To prevent condensation from forming, the berries are pre-cooled. Before consuming berries from the refrigerator, they are transferred to a place with a temperature of +8...+10°C for 8 hours.

Gooseberry varieties without thorns for the Moscow region

The climatic conditions for growing fruits and berries in the Moscow region and central Russia are not the most suitable. To achieve success, it is necessary to choose the right hybrids and specially zoned areas for the variety. When choosing thornless gooseberry varieties for planting in the middle zone, you need to pay attention to the following characteristics:

• resistance of buds and young shoots to frost;
• resistance to fungal diseases common at high humidity;
• lack of dependence on cross-pollination;
• rapid ripening of fruits.

The requirements for winter hardiness in such conditions are met by: Grushenka, White Nights, Defender, Malachite, Krasnoslavyansky, Northern Captain, Snezhana, Lefora Seedling, Finnish. The following have increased resistance to fungal diseases and insect pests: Grushenka, Aristocrat, Cossack, Sirius, Northern Consul, Northern Captain.

Thornless gooseberries for cultivation within the Moscow region and region include varieties that have a developed root system, are resistant to sudden temperature changes and can withstand cold gusty winds.

The berries should ripen no later than mid-summer. From the variety of proposed options, the following should be highlighted: Pink, Grushenka, Sirius, Ural, Northern Captain, Malachite, Honey, Kolobok, Lefora Seedling.

Reviews from gardeners and vineyards about “Honey Gooseberry”

★★★★★
Olga Sh., Vladimir region. Honey gooseberries are not the most productive, but they are certainly the sweetest in my garden.
The berries are very large, juicy, with thin skin. The problem is thorns; picking berries is difficult even with gloves. ★★★★★
Rodion G., Tula region. The berries are delicious, but it is important to pick them on time.
If you are late, it is difficult to collect them without damaging them - the thin skin cracks when touched. Another plus of the variety is its small seeds. Hide

Add your review

The main problem when growing Honey gooseberries is the infestation of bushes by diseases and pests. This excellent variety is inferior to its modern analogues in immunity, but the taste of its amber berries still captivates gardeners with its honey taste - for its sake they are ready to fight for the harvest.

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Advice from experienced gardeners

To get an excellent harvest from the Honey Gooseberry bush, experienced gardeners recommend adhering to the following rules for growing the crop.

• Select the brightest planting location for gooseberries. The development of gooseberries of this variety depends on the amount of sunlight.
• It is better to grow the crop on fertile soil, avoiding swampy areas.
• For planting, it is best to choose seedlings at the age of 2 years; they are already strong and will take root better when planted; in addition, they will bear their first harvest in the spring.
• Proper pruning with the optimal length of shoots, which should be 25 cm, will help harvest the crop in an easy way and add strength to the plant.
• The root system of the seedling should be of impressive size, the seedling itself should have 3 strong shoots.

If you take into account all the features of growing the crop, you can achieve the maximum yield of gooseberries of the Honey variety.

According to reviews from experienced gardeners who have been growing the Honey gooseberry variety for many years, it is too susceptible to diseases and does not have strong immunity. Therefore, many gardeners do not dare to grow it, giving preference to more resistant and strong varieties of gooseberries. Still, if difficulties do not frighten you, the variety should be grown for the excellent taste of the berries.