At a glance
- The cape gooseberry is a perennial that we only put in the bed as an annual, because it freezes back at the first frost.
- Sow it on the windowsill from CW 8 to 12 (late February to mid March), because the plant needs a long, warm season to reach ripeness.
- Plant it out only after the Ice Saints around 15 May · CW 20, in the sunniest spot in the garden.
- The berry is ripe when its papery husk is straw dry and parchment like and the fruit inside glows golden yellow.
- If you want to grow it as a perennial, overwinter the rootstock in a pot, bright and frost free at 5 to 12 degrees. In the second year it bears much earlier.
Few fruits turn heads over the garden fence like the cape gooseberry: a golden ball wrapped in a paper lantern, sweet with a hint of tartness, somewhere between gooseberry, pineapple and tomato. Botanically it is Physalis peruviana, sold as cape gooseberry or simply physalis. It comes from the highlands of the Andes, where it is a lasting perennial that sends up new growth year after year. And that is exactly the point here: treat it as an annual and you get an easy going snacking plant. Carry it through the winter and it rewards you in the second year with an earlier and far richer harvest.
A perennial we treat like a summer vegetable
The cape gooseberry belongs to the nightshade family, so it is a close relative of tomato, potato and pepper. You can see it in the whole habit: a bushy, slightly trailing growth, softly hairy leaves, small yellow bell flowers. In its home it grows one to two metres tall and lives for several years. The reason we mostly grow it as an annual anyway is simple: it is not hardy at all and takes damage right at freezing point. The first proper frost in the bed ends its life.
Do not confuse it with its relatives. The tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica) forms larger, green to purple fruit that you harvest green for Mexican salsa, not as a snack. And the ground cherry (Physalis pruinosa) is a smaller, low growing species with tiny, honey sweet berries that likes to self sow. When we talk about the cape gooseberry here, we mean the large, golden physalis you also know from the fruit aisle.
The cape gooseberry is no diva. It really wants only one thing: sun, sun and more sun.
Gardener's wisdom
Sowing: being early pays off
Because the cape gooseberry needs a good four to five months from sowing to the first ripe fruit, you have to start early. On the windowsill or in a heated greenhouse you sow from CW 8 to 12, that is late February to mid March. Anyone who only starts in April often harvests just as the first cool nights arrive and ripening stalls.
Prepare the sowing
Fill small pots or a seed tray with lean, low nutrient seed compost. Rich potting soil only drives soft foliage. Press the compost down lightly and moisten it well.
Sow the seeds
Spread the fine seeds thinly and cover them only very lightly with soil, about 3 to 5 mm. The cape gooseberry is a weak light germinator, it does not like being buried deep.
Keep warm and moist
At 20 to 25 degrees the seed germinates in one to three weeks. Keep the compost evenly moist but not wet. A hood or cling film keeps the humidity up but must be aired daily.
Prick out
As soon as the seedlings have two true leaves, move them singly into pots of 9 to 10 cm. Now they tolerate a little more nutrition. Grow them on cooler and bright so they stay compact.
Harden off
From early May you put the young plants outside in a sheltered spot during the day and bring them back in at night. Ten to fourteen days of hardening off makes them tough against wind and full sun.
The cape gooseberry easily forms new roots along buried stem sections, just like the tomato. If you set the young plant a little deeper than it stood in the pot when planting out, it stands more stable and builds a stronger root system.
Site and planting out: after the Ice Saints
The cape gooseberry may only go outside once there is no more frost risk, so after the Ice Saints around 15 May · CW 20. It is just as cold sensitive as a tomato. The spot decides success more than anything else.
- Full sun
At least six hours of sun, more is better. A warm, sheltered south wall or a spot in front of a light coloured wall brings the fruit reliably to ripeness.
- Loose, free draining soil
It does not tolerate waterlogging. A humus rich, well drained soil is ideal. In a pot a drainage layer of expanded clay keeps things flowing.
- Feed moderately
As a medium feeder, ripe compost plus a handful of horn shavings in the planting hole is enough. Too much nitrogen means lots of leaf and little fruit.
- Space and support
Reckon on 60 to 80 cm spacing, the plant grows wide and trailing. A stake or a low frame keeps the fruit laden shoots off the ground.
In a pot the cape gooseberry thrives wonderfully and is easier to overwinter later. Use a container of at least 10 to 15 litres. On a balcony or terrace against a warm house wall it often feels happier than in the cooler open bed.
From high summer countless small yellow bell flowers with a dark eye open up. You need no second plant and no pollinator help: the cape gooseberry is self fertile, a breath of wind or an insect is enough. From each flower a calyx grows that wraps the fruit like a lantern. At first this husk is green and plump, and as ripening progresses it turns strawy and translucent.
Flowering, ripening and harvest
You can expect the first ripe fruit from August depending on the sowing date, with the main harvest running from September into October, until the first frost calls a halt. Unlike with the tomato, it is not the colour alone that tells you ripeness here, but the husk.
The berry is ripe when the paper husk has become straw dry, parchment like and slightly translucent and the fruit inside glows golden yellow to orange. Ripe fruit often loosens by itself and drops to the ground husk and all. These fallen berries are usually the sweetest. Inside the dry husk they keep for weeks, and stored cool and airy even for several months.
Never harvest unripe, still green berries: like all nightshades they contain more indigestible compounds when unripe and taste hard and harsh. Wait until colour and dry husk match up. As the first frost approaches in October, you can cut whole fruit bearing shoots and hang them up cool, and many fruits will still ripen on.
Growing it on: overwintering the rootstock
Here lies the real trick that turns the cape gooseberry from a nice summer guest into a reliable regular. Because it is perennial by nature, you can overwinter it and start the following year with a strong, already established plant. That one bears much earlier and clearly more, because it skips the raising phase.
The cape gooseberry is not hardy and freezes back right at the first frost. Outside it does not survive the winter. If you want to keep it as a perennial, the only way leads through a frost free winter spot, most easily in a pot.
Bring it in on time
Before the first night frosts arrive, usually in October, move the potted plant to its winter spot. Dig up bed plants carefully and pot them up.
Cut back
Trim the shoots hard, to about a third or half. This reduces evaporation and makes the plant easier to handle. Do not worry, in spring it sends up fresh growth from the rootstock again.
Keep bright and cool
Ideal is 5 to 12 degrees in a bright spot: an unheated conservatory, a bright stairwell, a cool bedroom window. It does not like it fully dark and warm.
Water sparingly
Over the winter the plant needs hardly any water. Keep the root ball only just moist so the roots do not dry out. Do not feed.
Wake it in spring
From March you move it warmer and brighter, water a little more again and give the first compost. After the Ice Saints it may go out again. Now it starts with a full head start.
If the pot does not work for you, there are two ways out. First: leave a few ripe fruits on the ground in autumn, the cape gooseberry often self sows and you will find little seedlings in May. Second: take cuttings from young shoots in late summer, which root easily on a warm windowsill and survive the winter as small plants.
Using it: raw, cooked or dipped
The cape gooseberry tastes best fresh picked straight from the husk, right at the bed. But its sweet and tart aroma also works wonderfully in the kitchen. As jam or chutney it brings an exotic note that suits cheese as well as game. Dipped in chocolate and with the husk folded back as a handle, the fruits become a pretty dessert.
Physalis peruviana
- Familie
- Nightshades (Solanaceae)
- Standort
- Full sun, warm, sheltered
- Saison
- Sow CW 8 to 12, harvest September to October
- Wasserbedarf
- Moderate, no waterlogging
- Frosthärte
- Not hardy, frost sensitive from about 2 degrees
The dried empty husks, by the way, make pretty decoration for autumn bouquets. And anyone with lots of fruit simply freezes them without the husk, ready to turn into compote or sauce later.
Common questions about the cape gooseberry
Is the cape gooseberry hardy?
No. The cape gooseberry comes from the Andes and is not hardy here, it freezes back right at the first frost. In the bed you treat it as an annual. You can only keep it as a perennial by overwintering it in a pot, bright and frost free at 5 to 12 degrees.
When do you sow cape gooseberries?
On the windowsill from late February to mid March, that is CW 8 to 12. Because the plant needs four to five months from sowing to the first ripe fruit, an early start pays off. Plant out only after the Ice Saints around 15 May · CW 20.
How do I tell when the physalis is ripe?
By the husk, not just the colour. Once the paper lantern is straw dry, parchment like and slightly translucent and the berry inside is golden yellow to orange, it is ripe. Ripe fruit often drops by itself, and those are usually the sweetest.
Can you grow cape gooseberries as perennials?
Yes, and it is worth it. As a naturally perennial plant it sends up growth in the second year from the overwintered rootstock and then bears much earlier and more. The condition is a frost free, bright winter spot, most easily in a pot at 5 to 12 degrees.
How much sun does the cape gooseberry need?
As much as possible, at least six hours of sun a day. A warm, sheltered south wall is ideal. In spots that are too shady or cool the fruit stays small and no longer ripens before the frost.
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