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Ribes speciosum
  • RHS AGM

fuchsia-flowered gooseberry

A spiny medium-sized deciduous shrub with bristly stems bearing small, oval, slightly lobed, glossy leaves. Small, drooping, fuchsia-like bright crimson flowers with prominent stamens hang beneath the stems in mid and late spring

Other common names
Californian fuchsia
flowering gooseberry
see morefuchsia-flowered currant
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Size
Ultimate height
1.5–2.5 metres
Time to ultimate height
5–10 years
Ultimate spread
1–1.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Red Green
Summer Green
Autumn Green Red
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

South–facing or East–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H4
Botanical details
Family
Grossulariaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Genus

Ribes can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes spiny, with simple, usually palmately lobed leaves and small tubular or bell-shaped, solitary or racemose flowers borne in spring or summer, followed by juicy, sometimes edible berries

Name status

Correct

Plant range
USA (California), Mexico

How to grow

Cultivation

Easy to grow deciduous shrub but may not be fully hardy in exposed sites and best planted against a sunny wall

Propagation

Propagate by hardwood cuttings in winter

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Low Maintenance
  • Wall side borders
Pruning

Pruning group 2

Pests

May be susceptible to gall mites, gall midge and aphids

Diseases

May be susceptible to a leaf spot, powdery mildews, coral spot and sometimes honey fungus

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