Prefers a warm moist loamy soil and light shade but it is by no means fastidious, succeeding in thin, dry and shallow soils. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Grows well on chalky soils. Plants are hardy to about -15°c. A very ornamental plant, there are several named varieties. The cultivar 'Buccaneer' bears very large crops of large fruits, even on small plants. A good bee plant, the flowers are very fragrant. Plants can be pruned back quite severely, they resprout well from the base.

Fruit - raw or cooked. A pleasant though strongly acid flavor, it goes well in a muesli. Most children, and a few adults, really like the fruit raw, but in general most people will prefer to cook it. The fruits are about 10mm in diameter.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, when it should germinate in late winter or early spring. Seed from over-ripe fruit will take longer to germinate, whilst stored seed may require cold stratification and should be sown in a cold frame as early in the year as possible. The seedlings are subject to damping off, so should be kept well ventilated. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame. If growth is sufficient, it can be possible to plant them out into their permanent positions in the autumn, but generally it is best to leave them in the cold frame for the winter and plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year. This plant does not breed true from seed because it is a hybrid species. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, preferably with a heel, October/November in a frame. Suckers, removed in late autumn/early winter and planted out in situ or potted up and planted out in late spring.

Not known in the wild.