Jostaberry

Jostaberry: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Vigorous, broad bush of 1.5–2 m, without thorns.

Leaf

Alternate, 3–5-lobed, toothed, 5–8 cm, glossy dark green; hardly smells when crushed.

Bark

Light brown, thornless twigs.

Flower

Small, reddish, hanging flowers in April.

Fruit

Black berries (1.5–2 cm) in short clusters of 3–5, July.

Difference from blackcurrant

Blackcurrant has smaller berries in longer strings, and leaves that smell strongly when crushed.

Difference from gooseberry

Gooseberry has thorns, smaller leaves and large single berries.

Flowering: April · Harvest and fruit: July–August · Pruning: August and November–February

Identify by feature: Black berries

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Blackcurrant Ribes nigrum: smaller berries in longer clusters, and leaves that smell strongly when crushed. Difference from blackcurrant
• Gooseberry Ribes uva-crispa: thorns, smaller leaves and large single berries. Difference from gooseberry

Why grow it?

• Black berries in July, fresh or in jam, juice and liqueur.
• Thornless: picking without getting scratched.
• Suffers little from mildew and big bud mite.
• Vigorous and easy; suitable for an edible hedge.

Jostaberry: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade; in the sun the berries are sweeter.
• Any ordinary, humus-rich garden soil that neither dries out nor becomes waterlogged.
• Allow 2 m width: it grows more strongly than its parents.
• Also suitable as an informal, edible hedge along a path or the edge of the garden.

Light

Sun or partial shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

2 m tall, 2 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Blackcurrant: One of its parents: the same care and harvested in the same month.
• Gooseberry: The other parent: together a fruit corner with and without thorns.
• Redcurrant: Red berries beside the black ones, in the same fruit corner.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Suits the woodland edge or the light shade of: ginkgo, box elder, ash, honey locust, field maple, silver maple

Jostaberry: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March, bare-root or from a pot.
2. Space the bushes 2 m apart; in a hedge 1–1.5 m.
3. Mix compost into the soil and plant at the same depth as before.
4. After planting, cut the branches back by a third: it will then shoot strongly from the base.

Care

Watering

In dry spells, especially as the berries swell in June–July.

Feeding

Compost in spring; too much feed mainly produces leaves and wood.

Mulching

A layer of compost or leaves keeps the soil moist and cool.

Harvest

The berries don’t all ripen at once: pick in two or three rounds, when they are glossy black and soft.

Tip: Plant a few jostaberries as an informal hedge: they are thornless, grow fast and give a crop every year.

Jostaberry: when to prune it?

Pruning months: August and November–February.

When: After the harvest (August) or in winter.

How:

• As for blackcurrants: every year, saw a few of the oldest branches off at the base.
• Keep strong young shoots from the base; remove weak, low-lying and crossing branches, so the bush stays open.
• It grows strongly: keep it within its 2 m by cutting overlong branches back to a side branch.

Caution: Don’t shorten all the young branches: they carry next year’s crop.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Hardwood cuttings

In autumn, push 20–25 cm lengths of one-year-old wood halfway into the ground; they root easily.

Layering

Bend a low branch to the ground and cover it with soil; after a year it will have roots.

Jostaberry: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy.
• Flowering starts in April: cover the bush with fleece during late night frost.

Diseases and pests

• Birds: Blackbirds peck at the ripe berries. Put a net over the bush as they begin to colour.
• Aphids: Curled leaves at the shoot tips in spring. Let ladybirds and tits do their work.
• Lots of wood, few berries: A young jostaberry first makes mostly wood; too much feed or shade also holds back the crop. Give it time, sun and little nitrogen.

Through the year

• January: Winter pruning: remove the oldest branches at the base.
• February: Last winter pruning.
• March: Add compost and cover the soil.
• April: Flowering; protect from late night frost.
• June: Berries colour; net against birds.
• July: Harvest in two or three rounds.
• August: Prune after the harvest: remove the oldest branches.
• November: Planting and hardwood cuttings; winter pruning can begin.
• December: Winter pruning.

What can you use it for?

Food and drink

Berries fresh, in jam, juice or liqueur; the flavour lies between blackcurrant and gooseberry.

Garden and landscape

Vigorous, thornless bush that suffers little from mildew and big bud mite.

Edible and useful

Berries (July–August)

Pick the berries from mid-July to early August, when they are purple-black and give slightly under your fingers. They do not all ripen at once, so pick in two or three rounds and leave them a few days longer if you can: they will be sweeter. The bush has no thorns, so picking is easy. At home, snip off the stalks and flower remains with scissors for jam or liqueur.

Storing

Fresh berries keep for a week in the fridge. Freeze them in a single layer on a tray and then keep them in a bag: they can go straight into the pan. Jam keeps for a year in sterilised jars; the liqueur only gets better after a year.

Caution: Only eat the ripe, purple-black berries of the jostaberry, a cross between blackcurrant and gooseberry. Do not confuse them with poisonous black berries, such as those of wild privet, deadly nightshade or black nightshade: jostaberries hang in short clusters of 3–5 on a thornless bush with lobed, hand-shaped leaves. Unripe berries are very sour and can upset the stomach. Do not pick from sprayed bushes, and never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Jostaberry jam (Jam · ± 5 jars of 250 ml · 45 min)
• Jostaberry liqueur (Liqueur · ± 1 litre · 20 min + 6–8 weeks steeping)
• Jostaberry crumble (Dish · 4–6 servings · 20 min + 35 min baking)

Did you know?

• A German cross between blackcurrant and gooseberry from the 1970s. The name comes from Johannisbeere (currant) and Stachelbeere (gooseberry).
• Its leaves hardly smell, unlike those of blackcurrant: a handy way to tell them apart.
• It suffers little from mildew and big bud mite, two afflictions that often trouble its parents.