Frost tolerant fruit bushes?

[ameno]

I'd be careful about information that plants are hardy down to -10 or whatever, as usually those minimum temperatures are based on dry cold.
Plants from warmer climes are often a lot less tolerant of cold and wet together, and can suffer badly even just as prolonged near zero temperatures if they are very wet.

[ChingfordHarry]

Good point.

In this particular case, since the blueberries seem quite happy, and the KaPow survived without protection last winter (although, as I said it looked quite dead in March - my notes say "brown and sad") I think whatever I put there will be okay as long as I keep the roots above the "pond" that develops below it, I give it a bit of protection and there isn't a prolonged heavy frost. We shall see!

The mountains in Mexico can get quite cold, but Ugni Montana might not come from very high up...

[DannyK]

James Wong on GQT at the weekend mentioned feijoa sellowiana (aka "pineapple guava")- it seems they are frost-hardy to about -10 degrees C. Does anyone have experience of them? Roots plants sell them but don't give a variety - to me, buying an un-named variety of any fruit is like buying an "apple tree".

There was a nursery in (I think) Scotland run by a Kiwi (this is relevant because feijoas are widely grown in NZ) that specialised in them and had several different varieties available, but it seems to have gone out of business.

I believe you need two varieties for pollination.
I got mine from Burncoose. Had for many years. Very pretty and sweet edible myrtle type flowers. Never had ripe fruit. Might yield in a greenhouse.

How about a Brown Turkey fig?

[ChingfordHarry]

I think you're right about the feijoa; the other thing is that people seem to have problems here in the U.K. getting them to ripen outdoors.

i have three figs - brown turkey, white Marseilles and an un-named Italian variety that was given to me by one of my fellow allotmenteers, who was given it many years ago by an Italian who brought some cuttings from his home village in Italy. They're further up the slope where it doesn't get quite as frosty.

[DannyK]

I don't know where you are but frost not a problem here south of Croydon with the Brown Turkey. Mine has been subject to all weathers and despite having a restricted root run is a bit of a triffid!. It was from a cutting taken over 25 years ago from a tree outside the Stationmaster's house at Worthing Central.

I'd be wary of Wong's recommendations. Cucamelons are a waste of time and others are more novelty plants.

You could try a loquat, Eriobtrya Japonica, which can be grown from seed easily. In some parts of London they will fruit heavily, unfortunately not here. They are an attractive evergreen tree with bitter almond scented flowers. You'll find the fruit on sale in markets and ethnic shops. I have them coming up in the garden where seeds have been put in the kitchen compost bin!

[ameno]

You could try a loquat, Eriobtrya Japonica, which can be grown from seed easily. In some parts of London they will fruit heavily, unfortunately not here. They are an attractive evergreen tree with bitter almond scented flowers. You'll find the fruit on sale in markets and ethnic shops. I have them coming up in the garden where seeds have been put in the kitchen compost bin!

Central London is basically the only place in this country they will fruit, sadly.
The problem with loquats is that they flower at the end of summer and bear their fruit through the winter. Even a slight whiff of frost will usually see the fruit drop off, but they also need a fairly hot summer to make them flower in the first place (so Cornwall is out, despite probably having mild enough winters near the coast).
My next door neighbour here is Somerset used to have one, but it never fruited.

[ChingfordHarry]

Not entirely true! We had loads of loquats on the tree in our garden the other year, and I've seen one absolutely covered in fruit in Enfield - neither of which could be described as "central" London (we're about 400m from Essex...)!

It doesn't flower reliably, and this year when the fruit had managed to set either the parakeets or the squirrels had the lot before I decided they were ripe.

[ChingfordHarry]

Danny K - all three of my figs on the allotment were hit by the frost here this year - they were a couple of months later coming into leaf than the ones I have at home, and none produced a crop that was edible raw. The white Marseilles is a bit hit or miss anyway - I rarely get a decent crop off it.

I absolutely adore the scent of loquat blossom! Semi-tropical vibes in the shortening evenings.

Agreed about James Wong's recommendations though. Most people that I've read reviews from don't rate cucamelons very highly.

I have taken one of Almeno's recommendations on board, though - having succeeded with one cantaloupe this year (Minnesota Midget), I'm trying "Collective Farm Woman" next year...

[ameno]

I have taken one of Almeno's recommendations on board, though - having succeeded with one cantaloupe this year (Minnesota Midget), I'm trying "Collective Farm Woman" next year...

I've tried Collective Farm Woman a couple of times, planted outdoors through black plastic in a very sunny spot.
It was so-so, to be honest. The flavour was good but not great, the fruit were very small (cricket ball at best), and total yield was pretty so-so, too.
The best outdoor melon I've grown is Emir. Good vigorous plants which produce 800-900g fruits, good yield, excellent flavour and highly scented.
I want to try Alvaro next year, too, if I can get seeds for a reasonable price, as it's a Best Buy for outdoor melons.

[Penellype]

Agree absolutely about Emir - very productive compared to other outdoor melons. I have also tried Magenta which has better flavour than Emir and produces ok outdoors most years - the biggest fruit this year was about 4 inches across. Alvaro is ok, but I find it performs consistently less well than Magenta and doesn't quite match the taste.

Have you thought of a pink blueberry for your bin? I grow one called Pink Lemonade. They look and behave like a blueberry but the fruits are pink and taste completely different from an ordinary blueberry, with a definite hint of lemonade. The one I have is sometimes semi-evergreen and sometimes drops its leaves in the winter, but is certainly hardy.

[ChingfordHarry]

Penellype - one of my fellows has just bought a pink blueberry so I'll see how theirs turns out. Since I'm keener on growing fruit than veg, I should be able to make room for one later on.

Ameno (sorry, I typed that as "almeno" previously - Italian for "at least"... peccato) - Minnesota Midget was supposed to be cricket-ball sized (or softball sized if you read the American reviews, but everything is bigger over there...) - mostly they were substantially bigger, though. I will be growing in a tunnel, because I don't trust our Summers to perform reliably!

[Babru]

Thanks for this. The Asimina Triloba (American pawpaw) looks interesting but apparently grows to ~5m + (in 20-50 years, so I probably won't be here to see it...). Another one of hers is Elaeagnus umbellata - (Autumn Olive), which also looks interesting and is probably a more manageable size.

https://jurassicplants.co.uk/ have an interesting selection...

I love this site, thanks for posting it. Hours of fun browsing, and reasonable prices for little plants. If you're trying to grow something on the margins of hardiness, starting with a seedling is the way to go.

Re your other discussions (reading with interest ), two relatives of mine who adore cucumber absolutely love cucamelons...we're all different! :-)

[DannyK]

Danny K - all three of my figs on the allotment were hit by the frost here this year - they were a couple of months later coming into leaf than the ones I have at home, and none produced a crop that was edible raw. The white Marseilles is a bit hit or miss anyway - I rarely get a decent crop off it.

I..

This might be of interest https://www.theguardian.com/food/202...-waste-cooking
I've never had enough to make use of it.

I did have an autumn olive for a few years which never flowered or fruited. A mislabel? Now shredded
Some of those fruits in Jurasic's list are bit optimistic. I had a jack fruit in my front garden but that was in Manila! I will be looking through their site but there is often a good reason why fruits are unusual.
I eventually cut down a hybrid mulberry. The only good thing it did was to distract the birds from my blackberries.
My east European dogwood hasn't fruited yet.

[ChingfordHarry]

DannyK

there is often a good reason why fruits are unusual.

Couldn't agree more! Having said that, durian is one of my personal favourites, while many in the U.K. are put off even trying it just from written descriptions. Now, a frost-tolerant durian that bore fruit in 2 or 3 years would find a place on my plot. I can only dream...

[DannyK]

Couldn't agree more! Having said that, durian is one of my personal favourites, while many in the U.K. are put off even trying it just from written descriptions. Now, a frost-tolerant durian that bore fruit in 2 or 3 years would find a place on my plot. I can only dream...

You can buy them in London Chinatown.n I like them. I've not risked taking one home using my Freedom Pass. I seem to remember in Singapore they're forbidden from public transport. Mangosteens are my favourite.