Berries generally drop when overripe. The fruit has a flavor all its own, the best dessert cultivars as luscious as the best apple, strawberry or grape. Gooseberries like morning sun, afternoon part-shade and buoyant air circulation. They are most productive in full sunlight but the leaves sunburn easily under California conditions. They can be grown in the high shade of fruit trees such as persimmon or on the north side of buildings.
American gooseberry are much more sun tolerant.
Gooseberry plants are less finicky about soil acidity than most other small fruits, and tolerate a wide range of soils, except those that are waterlogged. Where summers are hot, bushes will grow better and produce better fruit in heavier soils, which retain more moisture and stay cooler. A thick mulch of some organic material also helps keep the soil cool. Sandy soils are less suitable for gooseberries because they dry out too fast. With their fibrous, shallow roots gooseberries are ideal for drip system.