Growing Cape Gooseberry, also Golden Berry, Inca Berry

Physalis peruviana : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
              S S S S S
                T T T T
              P P P P P

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in Australia - temperate regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 25°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 100 - 150 cm apart
  • Harvest in 14-16 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Will happily grow in a flower border but tends to sprawl over other plants.

Your comments and tips

Post a comment or question Display Newest first | Oldest first, Show comments for Australia | for all countries
29 Jul 19, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I suggest you do some costing and work from there. Do you spend hundreds of dollars to grow a few plants.
Reply or Post a new comment
22 Jul 19, Anna Read (Australia - temperate climate)
I have successfully planted a cape gooseberry in my front garden. So far; so good. My questions are - should it be pruned back? Does it need a frame to climb on?
Reply or Post a new comment
23 Jul 19, (Australia - tropical climate)
If falling over, provide a frame. Prune one side and see how it goes.
Reply or Post a new comment
30 Mar 19, Brad (Australia - temperate climate)
Keep an eye out for the 3 lined potato beetle if you are growing cape gooseberry as they can breed up quickly and ruin the leaves and fruit lanterns. See here for pictures to help identify the beetle, larvae and eggs: http://tomatoenvy.com/2015/06/09/wanted-dead-three-lined-potato-beetle/ My own approach is to keep an eye out for the beetles or chewed up leaves and squashing the beetle / larvae as I find them, and also checking the underside of the leaves for clusters of orange eggs which can be easily removed with a fingertip. More often than not I will find a pair of beetles together on the same plant and have found they are especially active in Nov-Dec but I have found stragglers as late as March even.
Reply or Post a new comment
24 Mar 19, Kelly (Australia - temperate climate)
Trying to grow cape gooseberry from seed, in pots, in Perth. Plants are small and struggling, some have dropped all leaves. Any thoughts? How much light and water would they need?
Reply or Post a new comment
14 Jan 19, Renee Chettle (Australia - tropical climate)
Available at Daley’s nursery, does online orders
Reply or Post a new comment
10 Dec 18, |Lily (Australia - temperate climate)
just wondering if the plants need to be pruned or just let them spread out Thanks
Reply or Post a new comment
13 Dec 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Maybe stake and support them and a light shaping of the bush.
Reply or Post a new comment
01 Nov 18, Nellie (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Each morning I check for small yellow and black striped beetles and then squash them between gloved fingers. This year I did this and have been able to harvest a crop for jam making.
Reply or Post a new comment
24 Oct 18, robert brown (Australia - temperate climate)
Boiled Rhubarb leaves are a good insecticide and for the ground invasion use coffee grounds the left over from coffeemakers
Reply or Post a new comment
Showing 61 - 70 of 393 comments
See comments for all plants

Hi Carol, My guess is your plant isn't getting enough water and/ or manure. My cape gooseberry which is now in the green house has gone wild, it's taken over the greenhouse. Not that I mind because it is loaded with fruit. Occasionally I squeeze the green husks to feel how the fruits are developing. The husks that developed in early December has fruits the size of a marble. I don't think they are going to get much bigger than that. New side shoots are still emerging just like the tomato plants and new fruit are developing with these new shoots. How I look after my goose berry is I try to get keep the soil around the plant moist but not damp if you know what i mean. Occasionally I let the soil to almost dry out but never completely dry so the root system can breathe. If you see the leaves starting to wilt from dry soil this will affect the berries in the pods. Try putting dry leaves around the base of the tree to preserve moisture. I don't need to mulch mine because the plant is so bushy it's shading the base itself!! I feed the plant with horse manure. How i do it is, I have a plastic bin about 40 litres with a cover. I put about a supermarket size bag of raw horse manure in the bin then filled it up with water, put the lit on and let it sit for about 2 weeks. I then scoop 4 or 5 cups of this mixture including the grassy bits of the manure from the bin and put into a 10 litre bucket. Fill the bucket up with fresh water, stir them together and water the plants. I feed the plants once every 2 weeks. simple as that..

- Canh

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.