Cape Gooseberry

Where to use

Cape Gooseberries grow well in a pot or can be used as a border plant, where the soft grey-green foliage can offset other plant colours. Cape Gooseberries are a great filler where the fruit can be accessed and freely eaten. An herbaceous perennial but in frosty areas Cape Gooseberries are grown as an annual.
Culinary & Nutrition

Cape Gooseberries contain Vitamins A, C & B. They are also high in protein and rich in Iron. They are excellent, eaten fresh, dipped in melted chocolate or fondant icing. Cook and put in pies or make jam or jelly. Compliments seafood, when made into a sauce, as it has a beautiful crisp flavour.
Growing Conditions

Cape Gooseberries will grow in a range of soils and can survive periods of drought. Plant in early spring to achieve an early fruit set. Second-year plants prune hard in spring (after frosts) to encourage new growth. Cape Gooseberries are unlikely to require fertiliser. Very few problems unless the soil is too wet, causing fungal disease.

Incredible Cape Gooseberry

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Delicate yellow, bell-shaped flowers with dark purple spots in the flower's throat. The fruit is round and yellow/orange, enclosed in a papery husk or lantern. The lantern dries when the fruit is ripe. The fruit's skin is waxy, and the pulp is juicy with many tiny seeds.

Cape Gooseberries are small shrubby plants with grey-green velvety heart-shaped leaves. This herbaceous perennial will grow for several years, other than the very frosty areas where it can be grown annually, producing the fruit from summer to autumn. It has many uses, from eating fresh to decorating cheesecakes, pavlovas and gateaux. Use in pies or make jam or jelly. Compliments seafood, when made into a sauce, as it has a beautiful crisp flavour

Easy to grow in many well-drained soil types, a good trim in spring after frosts have gone and pinching new growth tips will see it grow into a beautiful bushy plant.

Physalis peruviana