Small Fruits For Cold Climates
Every home gardener in the north should grow at least one kind of small fruit. Just because we live in a cold climate doesn't mean we have to deprive ourselves. For most of us, that fruit turns out to be strawberries. They easily survive our frigid winters, bless us with early summer bounty, and require precious little care once established. That's why I'm not going to talk about them in this article. I'd like to introduce you to some of the other small fruits hardy to the north. The numbers in parenthesis refer to the source list at the end of the article.
One of the toughest plants in existence, blueberries flourish in cold climates. A member of the heath family, related to cranberries, and more distantly to heather, blueberries are woody perennials that produce on both low and high bushes. For best fruit production you should purchase two varieties. Low and high bush types cross-pollinate.
Dwarf Northblue is a lowbush/highbush cross that's hardy to Zone 3 (1,2). Patriot, a large-fruited old favorite highbush grows 4-6 feet tall, bears fruit in July and is hardy to Zone 3 (1,2,4,5). Northland is a small-fruited highbush that grows 3-4 feet tall and thrives to Zone 4 (2,4,5).
Grapes are another one of those crops that give back much more than they receive. However, you must be brutal when pruning them. I learned the hard way to cut back my grape vines to the bare bones each spring if I wanted any fruit. I will discuss spring pruning in the next article.
Until recently there were few options for northern gardeners who wanted to grow grapes north of Zone 5 without pampering their vines. I've one venerable Niagara that's flourished up against the south side of my house, but I never dared plant them anywhere else. With all the new cold hardy varieties I cherish romantic images of lounging in the shade of a leafy arbor on hot August dog days.
One of the more popular new varieties of grape, Red Seedless Canadice, thrives to Zone 4 and produces deep red eating grapes (1,2,3,4). A new introduction from South Dakota University is Valiant, a tangy seeded grape hardy to Zone 3 (1). Another red seedless, Suffolk, produces spicy sweet table grapes of a soft pink hue, hardy to Zone 4 (1,4). Himrod, a great all-purpose seedless grape makes wonderful raisins and can be used for wine, juice or jelly as well. It's not as hardy as the others listed here, but survives to southern Zone 4 (1,2,4).
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