Anna Ralphs Gooseberry [2024-2026]

If they sprout, the will return from the dead. It will be a living testament to a 19th-century woman who valued flavor over size, and sweetness over shelf-life.

The Anna Ralphs fruits on two-year-old wood. The Victorian method was to grow it as a "standard" (a single stem with a ball on top) or against a south-facing wall. Prune in winter to create an open goblet shape. anna ralphs gooseberry

It is demanding. You need a deep, moisture-retentive but free-draining loam. pH must be between 6.0 and 6.8. Add copious amounts of well-rotted manure in the autumn before planting. If they sprout, the will return from the dead

Furthermore, the Ralphs Family Trust (descendants of the original family, now living in Australia) recently donated a box of letters to the Shropshire Archives. Inside one letter, dated 1895, was a pressed, dried leaf and two desiccated seeds marked "Anna’s bush." The Victorian method was to grow it as

In the United States, gooseberries were caught in the crossfire of White Pine Blister Rust control. A federal ban forced farmers to destroy Ribes plants. Many European heirlooms never made the transatlantic journey, and those that did were lost to the axe.

In 2018, a promising development occurred. A retiree in Cornwall named Geoffrey Hanks claimed to have found a bush growing behind a derelict bothy (a basic cottage) on the edge of Bodmin Moor. The berries matched the description: "pink-gold, hairless, sweet."

"Picked the first of the smooth pink berries today. Gave one to Thomas. He said it tasted like a plum and a rose had a child. No boiling needed. We ate them raw with cream."