Description
Ribes uva-crispa 'Hinnonmäki Röd' | Red gooseberry
Hinnonmäki Röd gooseberry is a deciduous shrub for a UK edible garden, with an upright, bushy habit and a mature height of around 120 cm. Its green leaves provide foliage through the growing season, while greenish-white flowers appear in spring and red fruit adds another point of interest. The branches are thorny, so their position is worth considering when deciding where the shrub will fit in the garden. This is a named cultivar of Ribes uva-crispa 'Hinnonmäki Röd', not a trained or standard form. As a gooseberry, it belongs to the Ribes genus. Its combination of an upright outline, green foliage and red fruit makes it a distinctive choice among fruiting shrubs. The plant loses its leaves in winter, so it is not an evergreen feature. Its stated mature height can help you assess how it may sit within an edible garden, kitchen garden or fruit garden, without assuming a particular width. The red fruit and thorny branches are useful identifying features, while the shrub’s overall form remains bushy and upright.
Key features of gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa 'Hinnonmäki Röd')
- Greenish-white flowers appear in April and May. They are a seasonal feature of the shrub, alongside its green foliage and red fruit.
- The leaves are green, and the shrub is deciduous. It loses its leaves in winter, rather than keeping foliage throughout the year.
- Choose a sunny or partially shaded position. Both aspects are suitable options for this gooseberry in a UK garden.
- It grows best in slightly moist, humus-rich soil that is well drained. The soil should retain some moisture but should not be waterlogged.
- The plant has a bushy, upright shrub habit and reaches around 120 cm in height. Its thorny branches are a practical point to consider when choosing a position.
- Hinnonmäki Röd is self-fertile. It can be considered for an edible garden alongside other fruiting shrubs; find it in our fruit plants category.
Uses of Hinnonmäki Röd gooseberry in the garden
- This red gooseberry suits an edible garden, kitchen garden or fruit garden. Its bushy, upright form gives it the character of a shrub rather than a tree or trained standard.
- It can also have a role as a specimen shrub where there is room for its form and thorny branches. Consider the branches when choosing a position, particularly where people need to pass nearby.
- The supplied hardiness range is -29°C to -23°C (USDA zones 4–6). This gives a stated guide to its hardiness, but does not promise identical performance in every UK garden or local microclimate.
- Its garden interest comes from the combination of green foliage, greenish-white spring flowers and red fruit. The upright, bushy habit gives these seasonal features a clear place within an edible garden.
- As a deciduous shrub, it offers foliage during the growing season but loses its leaves in winter. This seasonal change is part of its garden character and distinguishes it from evergreen shrubs.
For a UK edible garden, Hinnonmäki Röd offers a self-fertile, winter-hardy gooseberry shrub with red fruit, green foliage and an upright, bushy form.
