My second post on the forum! the first being my intro.
I have a potential narrow but long bed on the north side of my house with a slight west tilt to the exposure. technically it its the side of my garage. it gets some light in the spring and summer, maybe 4-6 hours but all shade in the winter. not sure if I can plant any fruit bearing shubs in this space but thought I would ask just incase. nothing has ever been planted here as far as I can tell. I did a deep weeding and covered in cardboard in the fall (held in place with chairs as pictured). still need to get the soil tested.
I wouldn’t hesitate to do currants and gooseberries.
Honeyberries even.
Serviceberries…especially dwarf hybrids such as Prince William.
Some blueberries can handle the situation if they get 2 or 3 hours sun…Blue Ridge, Aurora comes to mind.
Viburnum opulus and viburnum trilobum will grow fine…although the fruit isn’t very tasty fresh.
Pawpaw will work. Oregon grapes…numerous cultivars…plus nice evergreen holly like leaves.
And if you’re coming out several feet and not just 3 feet or so away from the building…many other options probably become available.
Yeah, that should work fine in 7b, very borderline in zone 6. Strawberry bush. Attractive evergreen shrub, also nice blooms and a special aroma. Tea would also work come to think of it…camellia sinensis.
I decided on Haskaps/honeyberries for this space. I ordered 4, particularly the 3 from the Boreal series and a Maxine. I’ll likely put the Maxine furthest west as it should have the best heat tolerance and can shade the rest. If anyone has planting tips please let me know. I was planning of leaving the carboard in place and adding some compost and mulch to the area after planting, but welcome to all suggestions. do I need to protect them from deer or just birds when they are fruiting?
A week or 2 back I pulled the cardboard back and ran my action hoe through any remaining weeds, then gave it a light raking. I tried to evenly space 4 spots for my 4 haskaps. I’m planning to grow them from left to right Blizzard, Beast, Beauty, and Maxine. Maxine will be in a location primed to get the most sun as its 100% Japanese lineage should be better suited for in my warmer climate. I pre-dug holes and mixed my clay soul with some leaf compost (Maryland made leafgro) and refilled the holes. I then sprinkled some extra compost on top just after replacing my flags making my pre-dug planting locations. should be getting them from honeyberry usa is the next week or so. after planting I’ll fill in the gapswith the cardboard I pulled and cover in a thick layer of wood chips.
picture of the prepped bed. its a foundation planting so I am concerned about watering as the overhang from my roof prevents the water from touching the entire bed. might need supplemental water for year 1. deer are also a concern but given the location I doubt they will cause problems in year one. might add a fence in year 2 if needed.
I received all my Honeyberry plants on Friday from honeyberry USA. They were all very well packaged, with the boreal series all wrapped together, with roots balls wrapped in wet newspaper and the entire plants wrapped in plastic wrap. the Maxine was in a commercial container with a lot more growth, wrapped in plastic wrap. I placed the cardboard back down, cut in holes and planted through them. I then topped with wood chip mulch. I plan to water as needed and just see what happens. hoping they survive year 1!
I am in zone 7a Tennessee… and tried jostaberry currents and honeyberry in full sun locations… had to re plant the josta and currants in a morning sun location… they did not like my TN full sun at all.
They are doing fine in morning sun location.
I left the honeyberry in full sun… but they really do not like it either… in July they drop leaves and pretty much look dead… but to my surprise leaf out again in spring. I have some tiny fruit on now.
Going to give them some shade late June thru mid Sept this year to see if that will help.
At this point I would have expected my haskaps to be leafing out already but they still are not. all of the gooseberries I planted from the same order have leafed out (although the leaves are still small). honeyberry usa recommended I cut the tips of the stems to look for green growth inside to make sure they aren’t dead, but I haven’t tried that yet. My Maxine arrived leafed out and still looks good. in fact I think the leaves are a bit darker now compared to when it was first planted. any thoughts? help!
hmm… i have a boreal beauty and beast i just got from them and the beauty still hasnt leafed out for me either but beast has. its been 2 weeks. in your warmer clime yours definetly should be growing. how long they been in ground? id do a scratch test to see if theres green under the bark. im going to check mine todat as well.
i wonder that as well. last year i had a serviceberry that never leafed out either. seems like maybe they need to change their storage practices. ill be asking for a replacement again for this one if thats the case.
Seems to me, despite having 50 years ahead of them, the younger folk are shorter on patience than older folk.
But a scratch on the bark or snipping the tip might yield a prompt answer to the issue.
If it’s still moist and green, then just hold your horses.
I’ve got an apple I grafted in March that just came to life day before yesterday…all the other scions from this person had taken and leafed out long ago…some even more than 6 inches growth. Mystery on the length of time that one took.
My U of S varieties now have tiny leafs. They have been planted in the sun for 10 days now. I am in zone 5. Kind of surprising how long it took them to come out of dormancy. There is no way Minnesota is that far behind southern Wisconsin. They must be doing something to keep them dormant for longer to improve survival?
