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            
    T T T T T T        
    P P P P P P        

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in Australia - tropical 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.
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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?
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23 Jul 19, (Australia - tropical climate)
If falling over, provide a frame. Prune one side and see how it goes.
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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.
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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?
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14 Jan 19, Renee Chettle (Australia - tropical climate)
Available at Daley’s nursery, does online orders
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10 Dec 18, |Lily (Australia - temperate climate)
just wondering if the plants need to be pruned or just let them spread out Thanks
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13 Dec 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Maybe stake and support them and a light shaping of the bush.
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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.
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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
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Showing 61 - 70 of 393 comments
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Have a cape gooseberry going on 3 summers now. Not much fruit in first year, bucket load in 2nd summer, now bucket loads in 3rd summer. Red spider mites would attack it from about March through to start of winter, but we just cut it back to about 20cm from base and the spider mites disappear heading into the winter. Noticed about a month ago after the hot weather hit, that alot of new flowers would just fall off at the slightest touch. Put this down to lack of water, so we placed sugar cane mulch to about 6 inches thick and out to a radius of about a meter, then stretched shade cloth over the mulch and pegged down (to keep the blackbirds from destroying the mulch). Under the mulch cover we also placed weaper hose and had this going for a few hours each day, and problem soon resolved with loads more flowers and setting fruit.

- Brad

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