Red Gooseberry bush

This is a fungus called Anthracnose. You need to clear away and burn or bin any fallen leaves now and in autumn. Cultivate around the base of the bush to bury any leftover leaves before spring or it will re-infect the bush. Prune and thin the bush to provide better air circulation as it is aggravated in damp conditions. Give the plant a good feed and mulch to get it's health back.

Thanks for that. Ihave cleared away all the leaves with black spots , unfortunately there aren't many healthy leaves left , mainly new shoots at the top of the stalks , do you think it is still worth feeding and mulching? I can't prune and thin because it's too thin already! The air circulation where it is has always been good.

If you just take the top third off each shoot it should bush out a little. Why isn't it growing well? Is it too shaded or dry? I would definitely feed and mulch to perk it up.

It gets plenty of sun and it is not too dry , I had thought it wasn't growing well because of the black spots/fungus , although new shoots are appearing on the tops of the stalks , so I will pinch those out and feed and mulch and hope for the best! Thanks again.

The gooseberry has produced very healthy leaves this year , I treated it with a sulphur dust for powdery mildew and no black spots on any leaves , so it looks good for this year. Fingers crossed for fruit!!

Well done! Protect the fruit from birds when it is nearly ripe.

Yes , thought of that already , would be a shame to let the birds have them after all this effort! Thanks.