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Hillside Gooseberry
Ribes californicum
  
14 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Hillside Gooseberry (Ribes californicum) 14 Nurseries Carry This Plant Hillside Gooseberry (Ribes californicum) is a native shrub in the Grossulariaceae (Currant or Gooseberry) family that grows along the coast and in the coastal mountains from Mendocino County in the north to Orange County in the south. There are two recognized Varieties: Var. californicum is found primarily in the Coast Ranges while var. hesperium is found in the southernmost part of the range. It tends to grow in moist places, at elevations from sea level to nearly 6,000 feet. It has spines so keep this in mind when deciding where to plant it. The flowers and berries make it a valuable wildlife plant. The berries are edible but best left to the birds.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
3 - 8 ft tall
2 - 6 ft wide

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Deciduous, Winter Deciduous

Flower Color
Flower Color
Pink, Purple, Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
The flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds. Plants in the Ribes genus are host to several butterfly species including the Tailed Copper, Hoary Comma and Oreas Comma.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 81 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Polygonia gracilis Image
Hoary Comma Polygonia gracilisPolygonia gracilis
*
Aglais milberti Image
Milbert's Tortoiseshell Aglais milbertiAglais milberti
*
Polygonia satyrus Image
Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrusPolygonia satyrus
*
Polygonia faunus Image
Green Comma Polygonia faunusPolygonia faunus
*
Lycaena arota Image
Tailed Copper Lycaena arotaLycaena arota
*
Polygonia oreas Image
Oreas Comma Polygonia oreasPolygonia oreas
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / week once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 14

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates sandy soil. Soil PH: 5.4 - 7.3

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use with other forest/woodland plants of the coastal mountains, such as Columbine (Aquilegia sp.), Coast Barberry (Berberis pinnata), Ceanothus sp., Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii), Coffeeberry (Frangula californica), Silk Tassel Bush (Garrya elliptica or fremontii), Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor), Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana), Tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus), Polypody Fern (Polypodium californicum), Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus or mollis), Meadow Rue (Thalictrum fendleri), Common Trillium (Trillium chloropetalum), and Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)

Propagation
Propagation?
Easily started from cuttings taken in late winter

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Canyons, stream sides, and similar places in the Coast Ranges and Transverse Range

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.8" - 83.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 2.08", Coldest Month: 32.2" - 56.0", Hottest Month: 51.3" - 80.4", Humidity: 0.23" - 34.85", Elevation: -3" - 7465"

Alternative Names
Common Names: California Gooseberry


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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