Red Gooseberry Hinnonmaki Rod 1L

General description: The Hinnonmaki Rod gooseberry is a long-living fruiting shrub. It’s characterized by slow growth reaching about 1.2 m in height. It’s a dessert variety and its red fruit are well suited for preserves.

Flowers: Hinnonmaki Rod’s flowers are tiny and inconspicuous, yellowish-green, bell-shaped before full bloom and covered in sparse trichomes (slightly fuzzy).

Blooming: Hinnonmaki Rod flowers at the turn of April and May.

Leaves: Hinnonmaki Rod leaves are three-lobed, with slightly notched edges.

Fruit: This variety’s fruit are red, very tasty, medium-sized berries. Juicy flesh is encased in delicate, striped, tart skin that is lightly tomentose (with tiny ‘hairs’). The berries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They taste delicious eaten raw and are great for use in preserves.

Ripening: Berries ripen in July.

Cultivation requirements: The Hinnonmaki Rod gooseberry is a low-maintenance shrub resistant to frost and pests. It prefers sunny locations, fertile and slightly acidic, moist and well-drained soil. It tolerates drought well and will also cope with poorer soil, however will then yield less fruit. When planted in the garden, shrubs should be spaced some 1.5-2 m apart. This variety can be grown in large containers, on a terrace or balcony. 

Pruning: Hinnonmaki Rod seedlings do not require pruning. A year after planting, in very early spring when still dormant, stems should be trimmed lightly to around one quarter in height. A mature bush should be heavily pruned to maximize fruit yield. Gooseberry bushes grow the most fruit on side shoots stemming from the main 3-4 year old branches. Every few years the shrub should be rejuvenated by cutting off the lowest stems and pruning the oldest branches to near ground level. Mulching is very highly recommended, for example with bark or wood chips and compost – this acidifies the soil, prevents weed growth and keep the substrate moist.

Overwintering: The Hinnonmaki Rod variety does great in moderate climes. It withstands down to -26°C, however covering young seedlings for the winter is recommended. 

Origin::Finland.