When should I plant my gooseberry bush?
Q When is the best time to plant out potted gooseberry bushes?
Sally Rennison (via email)
A The best time to plant any woody plant is in autumn, when the soil is still quite warm from the summer but the moisture levels tend to be increasing.
Although plants go dormant in October, their roots can keep growing until mid-December so planting in autumn can give up to six weeks for additional root growth.
This means that come the spring, when the new plant is putting out leaves, it has already got some roots established in the soil to support this new growth. This is good for the plant and should mean that the gardener can leave it to its own devices without the need for supplementary watering, unless the spring is really dry.
When planting, prepare the new site by digging a hole big enough to take the rootball, plus a little bit extra width and depth. Mix some organic matter or granular fertiliser into the bottom of the planting hole and into the soil for back-filling.
If the roots are pot-bound, then gently squeeze the rootball to encourage the endscan damage the roots, which will have an impact on establishment.
