Fruit bush reccomendations ...

[nick the grief]

Right then, I've sorted out the fruit bush beds on the plan and have red, white and black currants, Red and white/green Gooseberry and have space for one more ... what would you reccommned. We have Blueberries at home so theyre out as I'dlike something else.

[Grafitti]

Depending on how much space there is, Japanese Wineberry?

[burnie]

I haven't any recommendations, but I can advise you to avoid Honeyberry, what waste of time that was, what few berries we got were not very good taste and small too.

[nick the grief]

Depending on how much space there is, Japanese Wineberry?

Space isn't an issue really But Brambles I'm going to grow elsewhere. ... 1 to bear in mind Grafitti ...

[nick the grief]

I haven't any recommendations, but I can advise you to avoid Honeyberry, what waste of time that was, what few berries we got were not very good taste and small too.

THanks Burnie I was looking at one of those ... I'll not bother - I tried Goji's when they 1st come out and was underwhelmed.

[ameno]

Loganberry? I have a good thornless one, and it's pretty well-behaved for a Rubus species. It doesn't spread underground like raspberries do, but rather just grows a dozen or so stems from a central clump. It will try to root if you let the tip of a stem touch the ground, but that's easy enough to avoid.
I get about 3kg of fruit a year from mine, and it probably could be better if I looked after it better. They're a bit sour for eating raw unless very ripe, but they make excellent jam and are very good in pies and crumbles.

[Grafitti]

Space isn't an issue really But Brambles I'm going to grow elsewhere. ... 1 to bear in mind Grafitti ...

Another one that's more an actual bush, that I have been very happy with, is the strawberry guava. Started fruiting at 2 years old, quite good cropping for its size. Delicious fruits, deals with winter here fine, no protection.
Pineapple guavas are another one I've got, but no opinion yet as they're still too small, also it seems they only fruit in hot years

[Nicos]

More of a big shrub ,but have you considered a Strawberry tree?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbutus_unedo

I ordered one last Spring just before lockdown and it never arrived, but it’s an interesting fruit.

[ameno]

More of a big shrub ,but have you considered a Strawberry tree?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbutus_unedo

I ordered one last Spring just before lockdown and it never arrived, but it’s an interesting fruit.

"Interesting" is certainly one way of describing them.
It's very much a decorative tree, though, not a cropping tree. The fruit are nominally edible, but that doesn't mean they are good to eat. They are bland and insipid tasting, and have a very grainy texture.
The Latin name "unedo" means "I eat one", and with good reason. You wouldn't really want a second.

[Nicos]

Ah...just as well it didn’t get delivered then

A friend had one where he used to live and he really liked them.
I’ve never tasted one tbh , so maybe it’s something worth trying before deciding!

[ameno]

Ah...just as well it didn’t get delivered then

A friend had one where he used to live and he really liked them.
I’ve never tasted one tbh , so maybe it’s something worth trying before deciding!

I guess some people might like them. They are mildly sweet, and it's not like they taste outright unpleasant. They're definitely a fruit which looks a lot nicer than it tastes, though.
There's one in a park near me, and I've tried a couple, but even the ripest fruits aren't worth eating, and the grainy texture is quite unpleasant (it sort of coats you mouth and throat).

Also, they need a fairly sheltered area to grow if you want fruit from them, as the fruit take almost a full 12 months to develop. They flower around late September, then hold immature fruit on the tree over winter, then they grow through the following spring and summer and are ripe by the next September, just as the new flowers are blooming.
The immature fruits can withstand light frosts just fine, but any hard frosts will have them drop off the tree.

[Right Shed Fred]

Cape gooseberry. Might not be winter hardy, but you can dig it up/protect with fleece etc.
Or chilean guava.

[MelanieSW]

More a proper shrub/small tree, but I'm a fan of bilberry/Juneberry (Amelanchier canadensis)

[B Porcupine]

How about a Boysenberry? They are not so rampant as a blackberry and you cannot buy them in the shops and taste divine (you just need to let them ripen completely).

[nick the grief]

How about a Boysenberry? They are not so rampant as a blackberry and you cannot buy them in the shops and taste divine (you just need to let them ripen completely).

I've got a run of fence about 100' so I could loose one of these on it no problem


Melanie,

I did think about Bilberries or the like

Thanks all Just wish the rain would stop so I could make a start