Northern Gooseberry vs Black Raspberry - TreeTime.ca

Northern Gooseberry vs Black Raspberry

Ribes oxyacanthoides

Rubus occidentalis

Northern Gooseberry
Black Raspberry

Northern Gooseberry is a small, ornamental quality native shrub with prickly stems. You can plant it anywhere you'd plant Prickly Rose or Common Wild Rose, such as your yard.

Most people find Northern Gooseberry berries a bit tart for significant fresh eating but they are good for baking, wine or jam.

The Black Raspberry is a multi-stemmed shrub that produces edible red berries that deepen to black as they mature. The berries are flavorful and are great for fresh eating and preserves. Black Raspberry shrubs bloom in late spring with white, rose-like flowers and attract many pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

Black Raspberries are floricanes primarily fruiting on second year canes. Each spring cut back all two-year old canes, leaving only the last year’s growth.

Northern Gooseberry Quick Facts

Black Raspberry Quick Facts

Lowest Price: $10.99 - SAVE UP TO 27%
Lowest Price: $15.99
Zone: 1a
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Light: any
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


Berries: purple or purplish black
Berries: red to black
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NL, YT, NT
Native to: ON, QC, NB
Other Names: canada gooseberry, canadian gooseberry
Other Names: bears eye blackberry, black cap, scotch cap