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                  
        T              
        P              

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in USA - Zone 5a 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 50°F and 77°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 39 - 59 inches 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

24 Apr 15, hilary mcglew (Australia - temperate climate)
I would like to know what I am doing wrong. fruit appears but falls when only small before maturing?
04 Apr 15, Auriga (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi Rosemary. Golden Berry (Cape Gooseberry) can ben pruned hard. I have just recently pruned all the older branches off the plants. The young green shoots at the base have grown and flowered. I prune any branches that grow out (horizontal) as once they get bigger they get heavy with fruit and leaves they are the first to break. I do not spray Golden Berries as I have only ever found one pest that attacks them (Tobacco Slug Beetle) and I control these by picking off the beetles and any leaves with slugs. With the weather staring to cool off I haven't seen any pests over the last few weeks and wouldn't expect any before spring. Enjoy your Goden Berries!
11 Apr 15, Rosemary (Australia - temperate climate)
Much appreciated look forward to reaping the rewards
02 Apr 15, Rosemary (Australia - temperate climate)
I have a nice looking gooseberry, planted a couple of months back. Should I prune the very low branches they lay on the ground. Do I spray plants to stop bugs now or wait until bugs appear
26 Mar 15, seanne (Australia - arid climate)
My Cape gooseberrys were doing the same. As I'm trying to make a small yard edible Forrest I planted them under a pear with more potting mix and cow manure. Now they are lush green & growing fast. Mine however get a small water every day through summer in the morning and now our seasons changing every 2nd day.
07 Mar 15, Pat (Australia - temperate climate)
All my cape gooseberrys grew really well and then the top leaves all started to fall off and now most of them are just sticks with new growth coming from the base. They have had the same care all along. Do you know why this may be? They are planted in all different areas of the garden.
27 Dec 14, John (Australia - temperate climate)
HELP The leaves on my Cape Gooseberry bush are turning yellow. Any suggestions why and any cure?
30 Sep 14, GeeWhizz (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I found my 10cm tall plant growing in a car park last year in Raymond Terrace NSW while I was on holidays. Recognition of the plant came from my childhood (I am 60). The berries were a flaver-memory. I tenderly removed it as I just knew it was not going to survive where it was growing in a cement crack. I bought it home to SE Queensland and planted it in a pot where it still grows at over a metre high and a metre wide. I just love to eat the berries off the bush as I go about my garden. Moral; be aware of your surroundings and be prepared for what ever you might find. Happy Gardening and bless the rain every chance you get.
22 Sep 14, (Australia - temperate climate)
I live in Southern Highlands of NSW and am wondering what growing conditions the gooseberry likes .
18 Oct 14, Ange (Australia - temperate climate)
My cape gooseberry grew like a crazy thing and produced loads of fruit in decent sunlight late in a sydney winter when nothing else in the garden looked very happy to be alive. Doesn't mind cold wet conditions but not sure about frost. I'm coastal so frost not an issue. Good luck. Cape gooseberry jam is the best thing!
Showing 241 - 250 of 392 comments

-I planted the seeds from the berries I had from the store. -I live on Long Island, NY. -I started them in a small pot, a bit too late to sow- so I kept them indoor. I have my own odd ways of trying things- but this has been my biggest thriving indoor plant. (It was tiny and slow growing for a few months and then one day they just shot up and just keep growing a couple feet tall, and some are crazy looking (like one stem made a complete u-turn because the wall was in the way lol)... But for a start off-let's see if this will work experiment, it surprisingly worked out well. I will do it outdoors this year for sure. My second best plant has been dragon fruit.... So weird I know. I gave some pots with them already 6-12 inches high to people in VA and South Carolina, and some how- no one could grow it larger, and mine is looking like cousin it with green spiked hair. Lol.

- Tara Sikorski

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