Cultivar 2104: Carrie

Carrie is a gooseberry linked to Wyman Elliott of Minneapolis and Minnesota fruit selection work. Northwest Nursery Co. described it as a northern Plains gooseberry that could withstand cold winters without harm. Later catalog copy called it an old favorite in the fruit garden [S1] [S2].

Its origin is listed as Minnesota, by the veteran horticulturist Wyman Elliott. One Northwest Nursery passage says Elliott “gave us” the Carrie gooseberry. Another says it originated in Minnesota by Elliott [S1]. The available sources give no parentage, release year, or formal introduction date.

The fruit is described as larger than Houghton and deep maroon when ripe, with excellent flavor [S1]. Northwest Nursery placed Carrie first in its gooseberry section, suggesting it was preferred in that catalog’s northern planting context [S1]. Fruit Growers Service Co. also described it as a heavy cropper and familiar garden variety [S2].

The bush is vigorous, with abundant fine dark green foliage. It tends to grow like a dwarf tree from a strong central stem [S1]. As the wood matures, the thorns are said to shed, making the fruit easy to pick without gloves [S1]. A 1937 catalog says Carrie has few thorns and is often called the Thornless gooseberry [S2].

Carrie is reported to begin bearing the year after planting and to produce a good crop each year [S1]. Disease notes are brief but positive. Northwest Nursery says the foliage is free from mildew, and the 1937 catalog calls it disease resistant [S1] [S2].

The strongest hardiness evidence is regional and descriptive, not zone based. Northwest Nursery, writing from Valley City, North Dakota, says Carrie will stand cold winters without harm. The catalog was aimed at North Dakota and nearby northern Plains plantings [S1]. No explicit USDA zone rating is present in the available sources.

Carrie’s broader context here is as a Ribes garden gooseberry selected for northern prairie use. The sources do not give species identity, parentage, sibling cultivars, or descendant breeding use.

Summary source basis

• S1: PERENNIALS - The Northwest Nursery Co.
• S2: Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937

This summary currently draws chiefly from PERENNIALS - The Northwest Nursery Co., with 1 additional supporting sources linked below.

Selected source quotations

“CARRIE GOOSEBERRY. An old favorite in the fruit garden, heavy cropper and disease resistant.”
— Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p15

“Wyman Elliott of Minneapolis gave us the Carrie Gooseberry, one that will stand the cold winters without harm.”
— PERENNIALS - The Northwest Nursery Co., p10

“CARRIE-This variety easily takes first place in this section.”
— PERENNIALS - The Northwest Nursery Co., p19

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• CARRIE GOOSEBERRY. An old favorite in the fruit garden, heavy cropper and disease resistant.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p15
• CARRIE GOOSEBERRY. An old favorite in the fruit garden, heavy cropper and disease resistant.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p15
• Wyman Elliott of Minneapolis gave us the Carrie Gooseberry, one that will stand the cold winters without harm.PERENNIALS - The Northwest Nursery Co., p10
• Wyman Elliott of Minneapolis gave us the Carrie Gooseberry, one that will stand the cold winters without harm.PERENNIALS - The Northwest Nursery Co., p10

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context