Josta: flavour and growing
UPOV: black, medium-sized fruit; later ripening.
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
- Position
- Give the vigorous bush ample space; sun or light shade and moist soil with drainage.
- Pollination
- RHS describes jostaberry as self-fertile.
- Harvest
- Summer harvest; pick ripe dark fruit carefully.
What makes Josta special?
Flavour and kitchen
Gooseberry-sized fruit with blackcurrant notes; sweeter when fully ripe.
This describes the species' flavour; a separate flavour description for this variety has not yet been confirmed.Gooseberry-sized fruit with blackcurrant notes; sweeter when fully ripe.
Growing and harvesting this variety
Give the vigorous bush ample space; sun or light shade and moist soil with drainage.
Summer harvest; pick ripe dark fruit carefully.
Choose your way to grow
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
Free-standing bush
- Reserve space for the mature bush.
- Plant and water during establishment.
- Remove weak and crossing wood.
- Taste fruit until it is sweet enough.
Choose a cultivar and space that suit this approach.
Spacious mixed fruit border
- Position jostaberry behind lower currants.
- Leave picking space along the bush.
- Mulch without burying the trunk base.
- Thin older branches gradually.
Choose a cultivar and space that suit this approach.
What do you want from your garden?
A thornless, gooseberry-like harvest with a blackcurrant aroma offers a different experience from separate blackcurrants or gooseberries.
Flavour and use
Gooseberry-sized fruit with blackcurrant notes; sweeter when fully ripe.
Choose a suitable spot
Give the vigorous bush ample space; sun or light shade and moist soil with drainage.
From flower to fruit
RHS describes jostaberry as self-fertile.
How to give the plant a place
Free-standing bush: Allow room for the mature bush. Plant and water during establishment. Remove weak and crossing wood. Taste fruit until sweet enough.
Spacious mixed fruit border: Put josta behind lower currants. Leave picking room along the bush. Mulch without burying the stem base. Thin older branches gradually.
Care throughout the season
An open bush and gradual wood renewal; do not force into an undersized pot.
Recognise the right time to pick
Summer harvest; pick ripe dark fruit carefully.
Follow your own harvest
Record variety identity: Josta is also used as a general trade name.
Turn your space into a garden for experimenting
A berry corner can range from sharp red currants to mild white ones and pronounced blackcurrant flavour. Label cultivars when planting and make the bushes accessible for picking and maintenance. A row of bushes makes it easier to see which cultivar ripens early or later than a tangled mixed hedge. With limited space, choose the intended use first: eating straight from the bush, juice, jam or a combination.
Keep the base of the plant accessible for watering and weed control. A mulch layer can cover the soil, but leave the base of the bush clear. Prune with an understanding of the fruiting wood: blackcurrants are renewed differently from redcurrants and whitecurrants. Gooseberries also have their own bush structure. Do not cut all berry bushes into the same shape simply because they grow together.
Colour is a cultivar characteristic, not a universal ripeness test. A white or green selection will not eventually turn red or black. Compare a ripe berry for juiciness, firmness and aroma. A different balance may suit jam than fresh eating. When tasting, therefore, also note how you used the berry; a sour berry may provide exactly the fresh contrast you want in the kitchen.
Which flavour would you like to discover?
Josta: UPOV: black, medium-sized fruit; later ripening.
Jostine: UPOV: vigorous growth, later flowering.
When and how should you prune?
Period for assessing pruning: Jan · Feb. This is a seasonal window for a temperate garden in the northern hemisphere; check actual dormancy, growth and weather conditions.
Check the open bush shape during winter dormancy. On blackcurrant and jostaberry, renew old wood in stages; on currants and gooseberry, retain suitable short fruiting wood. The exact approach depends on a free-standing bush or trained form.
A young plant needs shaping; an established one needs maintenance and gradual renewal. First consider which branches you want to keep. Use clean, sharp tools and avoid unnecessary large wounds. A pruning check does not mean cutting every time.
My vegetable garden shows a suitable check for confirmed pruning periods. A variety-specific period takes precedence over the general species period. Planned and finished crops receive no pruning task; no European calendar is applied without a confirmed location.
Read the evidence behind the pruning approach →What you need
Tick what you already have. The extras depend on how you grow.
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Make it your garden
Save your favourite variety or add it to My garden. Your own observations determine the growth stage; care tasks are based on the species.
Add Josta to my gardenExplore more fruit & soft fruitSources and image information
SeedSteps editorial team · checked on 12 October 2026. Flavour descriptions come from the listed sources; ripeness and growing conditions affect flavour. AI images illustrate described characteristics and do not prove cultivar identity.
- World Checklist of Vascular Plants — 4 juni 2026Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · 2026-10-07
- UPOV · tg documents en tg138.pdfUPOV · 2026-10-12
- Royal Horticultural Society · detailsRoyal Horticultural Society · 2026-10-12
- University of Minnesota · growing currants and gooseberries in the home gardenUniversity of Minnesota · 2026-10-12