Jostaberry
Ribes × nidigrolaria
Also called Josta and Jostaberries
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitA blackcurrant crossed with a gooseberry, and it took the best of each: the size of the gooseberry, the flavour of the currant, and NO THORNS. It is also immune to the big-bud mite that ruins blackcurrants.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 5 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Sun to part shade
- Feed
- Every 45 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Hardy — a very cold winter RHS H6, to -20°C
- Size
- 1.8 m tall · 1.8 m across
- Lifecycle
- Shrub
- Origin
- A German garden cross of blackcurrant and gooseberry
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsNothing recorded against it
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Whole berries gone from the outside of the bush as they turn from red to black, working inward day by day — this one is big enough and sweet enough that blackbirds find it before you do.Birds · pest
- If a jostaberry looks unwell, check the roots and the drainage before hunting for a pest. It inherited resistance to both American gooseberry mildew and blackcurrant big bud mite, which are the two things that trouble its parents.Nothing much else · disorder