Capparis spinosa
Capers
Common names: Capers bush
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 100 cm, rows 150 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Sowing
- Mar–Apr
- Harvest
- Jun–Aug
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −8 °C
- Water need
- Low
Photo: IssamBarhoumi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Capers bush (Capparis spinosa) is a Mediterranean climbing and mat-forming shrub whose closed flower buds are harvested to become the classic capers. In the DACH region it only thrives on very warm, sheltered walls or in containers, which must be kept frost‑free during winter.
Care instructions
Plant the caper in a lean, well‑draining, lime‑rich soil at the sunniest spot you have, ideally a south‑facing wall. Water sparingly, as the plant does not tolerate waterlogging. Harvest the firm, unopened flower buds continuously by hand from June onward and preserve them in salt or vinegar. Keep the container frost‑free and bright from October onward.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–Apr
HarvestJun–Aug
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 18 °C, ideally 25 °C
- Days to sprout
- 21 to 90 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 0.5 cm
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, well-drained, dry, lime-loving, lean
The caper bush wants a lean, stony-sandy and very well-drained soil with some lime. It cannot tolerate waterlogging at all. It rejects heavy, nutrient-rich or damp garden soils; in the lowlands of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, growing it in a pot in a lean, mineral substrate is usually the safer choice, because it is not hardy.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
Fertilising is hardly necessary: as a light feeder, a thin application of ripe compost worked in shallowly at the start of growth in spring is enough. Deliberately hold back; too many nutrients encourage foliage at the expense of buds and caper formation. In summer you do not need to top up.
Overwintering
Keep the caper bush in a container and bring it indoors before the first frost. It overwinters best bright and cool at about 5 to 12 °C (unheated conservatory, cool hallway), watered only very sparingly. Waterlogging is the most common cause of death. Only put it back outdoors after the Ice Saints (mid-May · week 20).
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
- Layering
The caper bush can be propagated in three ways, and all methods demand patience and success rates are generally rather low.
Sowing: Fresh seeds germinate much better than dried ones. So it is best to sow straight after ripening. Lightly scratch the hard seed coat with sandpaper before sowing (scarification) and then soak the seeds for about 12 to 24 hours in lukewarm water. With stored seed, a cold phase helps in addition: stratify the seeds for 6 to 8 weeks in damp kitchen paper in the fridge, which breaks dormancy. Then sow shallowly (about 0.5 to 1 cm deep) in a well-drained substrate of equal parts seed compost, perlite and coarse sand, and press down lightly. Keep the soil evenly, lightly moist and put the tray somewhere bright and warm (20 to 25 °C). Germination takes anything from 2 weeks to 3 months, by experience, and is often irregular. Do not give up too early. Only pot on young plants once they are well rooted.
Cuttings: This is the faster method for plants that come true. In summer (July to August), cut semi-ripe shoot tips 10 to 12 cm long with several nodes. Remove all leaves except the top two, insert the cuttings into a well-drained cutting substrate and put them somewhere bright but not in strong sun. A mini greenhouse keeps the humidity up, but ventilate briefly every day to avoid mould and drying out. The rooting rate is moderate: caper cuttings root poorly and dry out easily, so expect some not to take. Tip cuttings from spring growth often need about two months. Pot on only after they have rooted completely.
Layering: In spring, gently bend a strong shoot close to the ground downwards, nick it lightly at the spot to be buried and fix it into the soil with a wire staple. Cover the nicked spot with loose, sandy substrate and keep it lightly moist. After a few months, often only in autumn or the next spring, roots form. Only then separate it from the mother bush and plant it as an independent plant.
For your garden
Grow Capers yourself
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