iskhan
Cool Member
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 5:30 am
Location: Karachi

Cape Gooseberry - Lots of Flowers but no Berries... Why?

Hi
I have a Cape Gooseberry plant in a container having 50% compost and place in sunny location it give lots of flowers like this:
[img]https://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Cape%20Gooseberry.jpg[/img]
but no Cape Gooseberry
[img]https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XY9Yfj4FiY0/SITf4FxJEAI/AAAAAAAAALA/pe9-kES-hPk/s400/cape+gooseberry_20080721_0002+%28Large%29+%28Large%29+%28Large%29.JPG[/img]
What is the problem ?? what is the solution??

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applestar
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Posts: 30515
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Maybe it needs help with pollination? I've no experience with cape gooseberry, but I know tomatoes and peppers (which are related to cape gooseberry) can be pollinated by tapping and shaking the flower stem. Other kinds of flowers can be pollinated by transferring the pollen from anthers of one flower to pistils of another with a soft watercolor brush (or clean makeup brush). Cotton swabs will work for larger flowers like squash.

I've been doing that with an indoor lemon tree (small cutting grown plant at this point, actually -- hardly a "tree" :lol: ) which has been flowering since it was brought inside for the winter.

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lorax
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Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:48 pm
Location: Ecuador, USDA Zone 13, at 10,000' of altitude

OK, I'm confused, because I see a fruit in your second photo.... :?

You might also have your soil mixed too richly for it - they're a native plant here and grow in the most marginal, depleted soils available.

AS has the right idea vis a vis pollination - just shake the bush lightly when it's in bloom and you should be getting fruit.

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!potatoes!
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Posts: 1938
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:13 pm
Location: wnc - zones 6/7 line

agreed w/ lorax...while I don't have direct experience with these, I'm planning on growing them and reading up - some authors suggest that they will hardly bear at all with 'adequate' water and nutrients - that they're one of those plants that 'thrive on neglect'...some went so far as to say that they only bear well in 'extremely poor soil'.



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