Home » Plants & Animals » New England Gardens » Small Fruits For Cold Climates - Page 2

Small Fruits For Cold Climates - Page 2

© Diana Morgan

My all time favorite fruit, raspberries, conjure up the essence of summer, sweet tangy and sensuous. One of the hardiest varieties is another product of the Morden Research Station in Canada, Boyne. This medium sweet berry is extremely hardy to Zone 3 (1,4,5). An old standby developed in Minnesota, Latham produces fruit in late June and survives to Zone 3 (1,2,3,5). Fall Red, an everbearing type developed by the small fruit researchers at the University of New Hampshire, produces fruits from July to frost, and is hardy to Zone 4 (2). A Cornell University product, Encore bears large dry berries on nearly spineless canes hardy to Zone 4 (4).

My favorite raspberry is Taylor. Though not as hardy as the others mentioned here, it produces long firm sweet fruits with the most intense raspberry flavor I've ever experienced. Supposedly hardy only to Zone 5, they have flourished in my Zone 4 microclimate (2,5).

There are many other small fruits you may want to sample. If you have a damp piece of ground try growing cranberries, hardy to Zone 2 (1,2). Hardy Kiwi is becoming very popular, but you must have both male and female plants to get fruit. This vine survives to Zone 4 (1,2,3,4) and produces fruits the size of large grapes.

Another hardy fruit showing up at garden centers as a decorative perennial called Wintergreen (Gaultheria sp.). Also a member of the Heath family, this tough little evergreen thrives in shady acid soil and produces plump dry red berries that are better flavored for being allowed to winter over. When spring blows its first warm breaths Gaultheria berries soften and swell to the size of large highbush blueberries. Their delightful wintergreen flavor is a spring tonic indeed. Use them raw as cooking boils off the essential oils, leaving them tasting like styrofoam. They are hardy to Zone 3 (6).

Small fruits are fairly carefree. The best defense is proper bed preparation before planting, mulch after planting, and regular pruning. The only pests I've encountered are catbirds and the application of inexpensive netting foils them effectively. If you've never grown any small fruits, give them a try. I guarantee it's addictive. I started with a solitary grapevine and now enjoy blueberries, raspberries, and, of course, strawberries.

Source List:

1) Henry Fields 415 North Burnett Shenandoah, IW 51602 http://www.henryfields.com

2) Miller Nurseries 5060 West Lake Road Canandaigua, NY 14424 800-836-9630

3) Stark Bros. P O Box 10 Louisiana, MO 63353

The copyright of the article Small Fruits For Cold Climates - Page 2 in New England Gardens is owned by Diana Morgan. Permission to republish Small Fruits For Cold Climates - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.