Poundland gooseberries (blueberries???)

[jennym]

I don't often buy fruit plants from anywhere except proper nurseries, but did see some gooseberry plants for sale in a new Poundland that had opened and thought, well the cuttings look sturdy and firm, at £1 a go it must be worth investing in a fiver's worth. I've got quiet a few gooseberry plants already, but do love gooseberries so wanted to increase them quickly.
I did think, they don't look very thorny when I pulled them out on the shop to look.
There was no variety shown but a good clear picture on the outer cardboard sleeve of green gooseberries.
Well they've been in a couple of months now, they're all sprouting leaves merrily, but they aren't gooseberries.  The leaves look very much like the blueberry leaves on my established bushes.
So, what do I do now? I haven't planted them in ericaceous soil, which I would have done if I'd known. I suppose I can wait until winter and move them. But I feel a bit cross, and want to complain, but don't want to yank them out and take them back to the shop, seems a waste.
Anyone else had this?

[jennym]

[pookienoodle]

no advice but I think one of my fellow plotholders has your gooseberries. ;D
He was showing me his "blueberries" which I am quite certain are gooseberries,they too were from poundland.

[nilly71]

It's been mentioned a few times that fruit and fruit tree's from £ shops and lidl's don't always develope into what they show on the picture.

If they went in as sticks/canes with no roots then I don't think they would of developed enough to do them any harm if you pull them up and take them back.

Neil

[Rosyred]

I would write a letter to complain that you didn't get what you was expecting and see if they refund your money - you have nothing to lose. You could sell on your blueberries bushes as mature plants.

[Crystalmoon]

Ive had awful results from cheap fruit bushes too, they just did not grow well or thrive or produce fruit despite much pampering. Ive tried blueberries, redcurrants & gooseberries from Wilkinsons & they were all useless. Yet the cheap strawberries I got from the same shop have been great & are romping into their third season covered in flowers! Think it is very hit & miss with the stuff from the cheaper shops

[jennym]

Just a quick update on this. One of the "gooseberry" bushes has turned out to be a beautiful deep mauve hibiscus. Think it'll get moved when it goes dormant, cos it really is in the wrong place, but it set me wondering if some poor soul who wanted a hibiscus is thinking to themselves, "Hmmm, that hibiscus looks a bit weird"  ;D

[Duke Ellington]

hehehehe!!  ;D My Lidl bramley apple looks nothing like a bramley!!

Duke:)

[manicscousers]

Had humungous peaches from our Lidl nectarine tree this year  ;D

[budgiebreeder]

WEll i got redcurrant bushes , a Grape Vine and White Currant bushes from Wilkos and they were all as stated on the boxes so i  must have been very fortunate.They also even fruited the !st year.I have been delighted with them so its not all bad.

[Digeroo]

I had some 99p gooseberries for 67p.  They are all still going strong and one fruited the first year.  Not much between them and an expensive one from Homebase.

All Lidl apples doing very well only one is the advertised variety.  It was a couple of years before I found my Lidl gooseberry was pink.  But actually very tasty.

I do think they should have to name the varieties and get it right.

[PurpleHeather]

Sounds like the supplier packed the two varieties in the wrong packaging. These places tend to employ people whose first language is not English.


If you already have some gooseberries why not take five cuttings from them?

[Ellen K]

Not completely O/T but when I cleared my plot, among the triffids and rubbish were 2 struggling fruit bushes planted by the previous tenant.

I transplanted them and one was a bog standard red currant.  The other produces nectar sweet dark desert gooseberries, they are beautiful.  I've looked around to buy another plant but can't seem to find one so I might do the Poundland thing and cut a branch off, stick it in a bag of dirt and hope it makes a new plant.

I bought the Poundland climbing roses to plant at the back fence of the plot and they were a misture including floribunda and ground cover types.  Some were healthy but no way were they climbers.  You can get much better plants for 1.50 when Aldi have them in stock.  A world of difference for another 50p.

[jennym]

...If you already have some gooseberries why not take five cuttings from them?

Well, I did want to try and win a year, hence buying the supposedly rooted gooseberry cuttings in the first place. I wanted green, and to be honest some of the green gooseberries I have are a bit old, and I've not had decent cuttings from them. Have loads of red ones and they look much more vigorous funnily enough, and seem to root and grow much more easily. But I want more green!

[theothermarg]

Well it's been the 2nd year for my Lydl  "blackberries" which turned out to be fantastic raspberries. they started fruiting early summer and they are still going strong,only trouble is I don't know how to treat them
marg

[jennym]

Cut down just the raspberry stems that have fruited (when they've finished fruiting).
If there's lots of new stems without fruit or flowers left, it's possibly a summer type and you keep those stems to over-winter and fruit the next year. You may need to support them to stop them getting damaged in the winter winds.
"Autumn" ones can start fruiting quite early and carry on until now, though so I guess that's what you've got. They produce fruit on stems that grow in the same year.

[chriscross1966]

I had a mixed pack of three (supposedly) from  Aldi for 2.49 (IIRC) last autumn as b are-roots... they''ve been in pots since and what I've got is a couple of raspberries that managed to fruit  in the first year, one quite extensively... always had a handful on it all through the summer, one blackcurrant that fruited a single spur but enough for me to realise it's opretty good and a gooseberry that hasn't fruited yet. So I'm up a rasberry on the deal if nothing else...... Once I sort out heir permanent homes they'll go in but I'd buy the same deal again in a shot...

chrisc