Plant primer: Gooseberry Pixwell

Gooseberry Pixwell (Ribes hirtellum "Pixwell") is a tasty addition to a small home garden.

Pixwell is a North American variety of gooseberry that originated in 1932 in North Dakota. At that time, cultivating gooseberries and currants was banned by the federal government to prohibit the spread of white pine blister rust, a fungus that effect currants and five-needled white pines when they are planted nearby.

Although the ban was rescinded in 1966 in many parts of the United States (including Ohio), gooseberries and currants remain an unfamiliar choice for home gardeners.

Gooseberry Pixwell has small medium-green, deeply lobed leaves that grow on lightly thorned branches. The small flowers have green petals tinged with pink.

The half-inch fruit turns from green to a rosy pink as it ripens.

Pixwell fruit tastes best when harvested a bit underripe. The fruit hangs from small stems just below a branch.

Gooseberry Pixwell can in be seen in the berry yard on Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens’ Scotts Miracle-Gro Community Garden Campus.

Height: 5 feet

Spread: 3 feet

Hardiness: Zones 3-6

Origin: North America

— Barbara Arnold, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens