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Captivator Gooseberry (Bundle of 2) | Spring 2027
$59.99
Reliable shipping
Flexible returns
Ripening
Will it finish before your first hard freeze?
Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)
Disease resistanceResists 2 of 3
- 3 Leaf spot : Moderate, 3 of 5
- 4 Powdery mildew : Resistant, 4 of 5
- 4 White pine blister rust : Resistant, 4 of 5
Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.
See it on our berry disease chart (opens in a new tab)At a glance: Captivator Gooseberry is a gooseberry shrub rated hardy to zone 3 in our ratings (winters to -40°F), self-fertile, so one plant can crop, and it ripens about Jul 9 to Jul 19 in Missoula (our Missoula estimate).
| Hardy to | Zone 3 to 7. A bare number means the whole of zone 3, colder half included (winters to -40°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator. |
|---|---|
| Chill hours | About 1,000 hours (800 to 2,000). Our estimate. No published figure exists for this variety yet. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources. |
| Pollination | Self-Fertile. Bloom group 3 of 7 (early-mid), very early spring here. Captivator sets fruit on its own, so one plant will crop. A second gooseberry variety nearby can give larger fruit set. Bloom group is our estimate from the variety's origin and relatives. Currant & Gooseberry Pollination Chart. |
| Ripens | About Jul 9 to Jul 19 in Missoula (a Missoula estimate from published sources). Real years swing about a week either way. See the date for your town. |
| Good for | Fresh eating (8/10), pies and baking (7/10), jams and jellies (7/10), canning and freezing (6/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists. |
| Deer | Rarely bothered by deer. |
| What you get | Bare root. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out. |
Overview
Similar to Hinnomaki Red in terms of their pretty red berries, Captivator is slightly more tart than Hinnomaki Red. We’ve noticed that they are “jammier” than Hinnomaki, in that when you eat the berries, it’s like eating a berry of jam. It has a nice, unique flavor.
Cold Hardiness
Hardy to -40°F or more, Captivator is perfect for cold climates.
Plant Size & Root Health
These shrubs are 1–2 feet tall and have excellent root systems, with lots of fine root hairs to help them establish quickly.
Shipping restrictions: white pine blister rust quarantine
Gooseberries and currants (Ribes species) are alternate hosts for white pine blister rust. We cannot ship this plant to North Carolina, which prohibits all Ribes statewide.
Permit or county-level restrictions also apply in: New Hampshire, where ‘Captivator’ is on the state’s approved rust-resistant cultivar list but still requires a permit from the Division of Forests & Lands before planting; Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and West Virginia (prohibited in specific counties or townships); and Delaware, Michigan, and Rhode Island (state permit required). Please check your local rules before ordering.
Orders placed to a prohibited state will be cancelled and refunded.
Photos: “PI 556051 'Captivator' (Ribes uva-crispa), fruit photo rib0137.001.captivator.fruit1.2007” by USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, Oregon (GRIN-Global), via USDA GRIN, public domain; “PI 556051 'Captivator' (Ribes uva-crispa), fruit photo rib0137.001.captivator.fruit2.2007” by USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, Oregon (GRIN-Global), via USDA GRIN, public domain.
Questions we get about Captivator Gooseberry
Does Captivator Gooseberry need a pollenizer?
No. Captivator Gooseberry is self-fertile, so a single tree can set fruit. Captivator sets fruit on its own, so one plant will crop. A second gooseberry variety nearby can give larger fruit set.
How cold hardy is Captivator Gooseberry?
We rate Captivator Gooseberry hardy to zone 3, which means winters down to about -40°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.
How many chill hours does Captivator Gooseberry need?
About 1,000 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 800 and 2,000. Nobody has published a chill figure for it, so that's our estimate from its relatives and origin. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.
When does Captivator Gooseberry ripen?
About Jul 9 to Jul 19 in Missoula, Montana (an estimate built from published sources and our climate). Warmer places run earlier and cooler places later; our ripening map converts the date to your town.
What is Captivator Gooseberry good for?
Our top use scores for Captivator Gooseberry are fresh eating (8/10), pies and baking (7/10), jams and jellies (7/10), canning and freezing (6/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.
Is Captivator Gooseberry disease resistant?
For some diseases, yes. It's resistant to powdery mildew and white pine blister rust. It holds up moderately well against leaf spot. Our berry disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.
Will deer eat Captivator Gooseberry?
Rarely. Deer seldom bother Captivator Gooseberry, though a hungry winter deer will try almost anything.
What arrives, and when does Captivator Gooseberry ship?
A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.