Jostaberry fruit - yummy, but beware!

We've been trying to cultivate a Jostaberry bush for a couple of years now and although we get plenty of growth we haven't achieved much fruit until now. This summer one side of the bush has successfully produced berries while the other has none at all... very strange!

Jostaberries

For those who don't know the plant, the Jostaberry is a complex-cross fruit bush in the Ribes genus, involving three original species, the black currant R. nigrum, the North American coastal black gooseberry R. divaricatum, and the European gooseberry. I'd heard of these and thought the idea sounded interesting so when I saw a small plant at the local garden centre I thought we'd give it a go. Well let me tell you I'm glad we did because the fruit are simply splendid!

Jostaberry Fruits

Rich in Vitamin C the berries are smaller than a gooseberry and larger than a blackcurrant. Flavour wise they tend to favour European gooseberries when under ripe, but are very much like blackcurrants once fully ripened. The birds love them and so do I.

Something I've just recently found out, which I don't remember seeing in any brochure or gardening website... a handful of jostaberry fruit makes an excellent laxative! 😮