Carried by 42 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
Fuchsia flowered gooseberry (Ribes speciosum) is a deciduous shrub in the Gooseberry family (Grossulariaceae). It has small, dark green, glossy leaves and thorns along the branches. The beautiful fuchsia-red flowers hang down in abundance from the branches throughout the bush. The tube-shaped flowers with their protruding stamens and stigmas look a little like red-dressed ballerinas dancing in a line.
The flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths. Birds and other small mammals enjoy eating the berries. The numerous thorns make it unpalatable for deer. Fuchsia flowered gooseberries naturally grow in Coastal Sage Scrub, Chaparral, and shady Woodlands. It prefers growing in the shade of oaks or larger shrubs, in seasonally moist locations. In the garden, plant it behind evergreen perennials or low shrubs, to hide the bare stems in summer. Site it away from walkways to avoid getting scratched by the thorns. The long-blooming, spectacular flowers make this shrub worth the months of bare stems and thorns.
Shrub
6 - 10 ft Tall
3 - 8 ft Wide
Mounding, Rounded
Fast
Summer Deciduous, Summer Semi-deciduous
Slight
Red, Pink
Winter, Spring
Deer resistant
Deep Shade, Partial Shade
Low, Moderate, Very Low
Max 1x / month once established
Moderate
Tolerates cold to 20° F
Medium, Slow
All different kinds. Avoid summer water in clay soils.
Tolerates serpentine soil..
Soil PH: 4 - 8
Handles light pruning
Root cuttings in water; use hardwood. For propagating by seed: 3 mos. stratification (Hildreth 1976).
7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
Shady woodlands and chaparral or coastal sage scrub; seasonally damp slopes
Chaparral, Oak Woodland, Pine Forest
Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia), Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia var. agrifolia), Summer Holly (Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. planifolia), Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Mission Manzanita (Xylococcus bicolor)
Butterflies and moths supported
2 confirmed and 69 likely
Tailed Copper
Lycaena arota
Milbert's Tortoiseshell
Aglais milberti