Our garden

Bonsai, garden trees, houseplants and the odd volunteer seedling.

This is our little online catalogue of everything growing in our garden, made for friends and family. It's a work in progress, and there's always something new going in.

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Bonsai
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Stumpy
View 2, 25 Sept 2026

Stumpy

Ribes × nidigrolaria

Single trunk with a slight kink low down, forking into two thick stems that have been cut back hard, plus a few long leafy shoots left to keep it growing. Surface roots showing at the base.

Common name
Jostaberry
Section
Bonsai (also in Fruit, veg & herbs)
Style
Pre-bonsai / raw material
Spot
Outdoor windowsill
Soil
Westland bonsai mix
Options
Potential

Bonsai: a possible compact, fruiting shrub with an individual trunk and branch outline.

Alternatively, a jostaberry bush for an edible garden or generous container.

From
A big chain garden centre, Sep 2026
Age
About 5 years
Next repot
Around Mar 2027
Edible
🤔 Sort of: Jostaberries, if a bonsai ever manages to fruit.
Hardy
✅ Fully
Garden-centre price
about £15
Did you know?

Bred in Germany in the 1970s, the name combines the German words for blackcurrant (Johannisbeere) and gooseberry (Stachelbeere).

RHS guide

Care & updates

Next root check
Mar 2027
What to expect
Slow and steady: expect fresh shoots each spring to pinch back, thickening a little more each year.
Feeding
Every 14 days, Mar–Aug, with Balanced bonsai feed, half strength
  1. Repotted

    Hard root prune. Into plastic training pot.

  2. Pruned

    Hard top prune: both main stems cut back, a few leafy shoots kept.

🎮
Mega Drive moment Fantastic Dizzy (Mega Drive)

Dizzy spends the whole game hunting down fruit. Berries very much included.

Look it up →