Kens Red Actinidia arguta var. cordifolia x Actinidia melanandra
Issai Actinidia arguta x Actinidia polygama
Issai and kokuwa i think are both from japan and can produce both male and female flower parts. And thus can self pollinate but also pollinate others.
Vitikiwi (polish variety) i think can also selfpollinate.
Actinidia kolomikta ‘Dr Szymanowski’ is an arctic kiwiberry that supposidly also should be able to self pollinate. But i don’t have any experiance with that one.
Generaly even the varieties that can self give better harvest when pollinated by a “pure” male plant. So if you have the space get a male plant. But depending on the variety it’s not always needed to have a male plant.
The more vigorous varieties like Triple Crown would be too large for your space unless severely pruned for minimal harvest. Consider the fruit might stain the fence due to ripe frut + wind, and bird activity. Flavor of Triple Crown, as variously described on this forum, varies wildly by location, growing conditions, and soil type. Mine, for example, do not have large, bitter seeds and they are very flavorful.
regent is only 6ft. could prune it smaller. i grow northline and jb 30. i also have a wild 20ft tall one growing out of my spruce privacy hedge that i grafted northline to. should produce some fruit this year.
you got to get a aurora honeyberry. they have huge, tasty berries and fruit very early. out of my 5 varieties they are my fav. they are partly self-fertile but produce more bigger, berries if a pollinator is nearby. i have honeybee and indigo gem. honeyberryusa.com sells them.
Evergreen huckleberry (vaccinium ovatum) grows and fruits well in 70% shade, but the berries are small and not very juicy or sweet (I love the berries). I’ve seen them freeze to the ground below 10 degrees Fahrenheit and not all of them sprout back the following spring.
Arctic kiwi vines have been pretty tame vines for me and although you have to grow a male, the male can be pruned back severely after flowering. Hardy kiwis are out of control for me, even in the shade.
Thornless loganberries also do well for me in the shade, with reduced berry production but reasonably good quality.
Not trying to dog on triple crown too much it probably does very well for lots of people but another reason I am changing to loganberries is that triple crown ripens too late for me right in the scalding heat and get sunburned badly and SWD season where I am here in Oregon. Mostly I don’t like wormy berries so I am trying to move to earlier berries like Columbia sunrise, halls beauty and loganberry and also early blueberries and summer raspberries not fall ones.
That is good to know, thanks! We don’t need a huge harvest, just want to add some variety to our yard. Is there another variety you would recommend that is better suited? We were also looking at Ouachita. Or open to any suggestion of a thornless variety.
We tried Aurora and a few other varieties at our last house and didn’t have much luck. Crazy Denver weather caused them to bloom too soon when it got hot and then lost the fruit to a later spring blizzard every year. Trying a late blooming honeyberry this time with Keiko and Willa… fingers crossed!!
…and I just now noticed your pristine paved walkway adjacent to the planting area. That would get stained for sure from any variety of caneberry, but they could work if trained right against the fence, heavily pruned, using varieties that stay clumped and do not run (avoid red raspberries). So much depends on the vigor of the plants at your location. What varieties do local nurseries sell?
Haha true. I would sacrifice a clean sidewalk to the berry gods but not sure about my hubby. We were thinking of an erect variety planted closer to the fence and being really on top of pruning and trellising to keep it neat. We haven’t checked local nurseries yet, one we have a plan we’ll look at our favorite local garden shops and if we don’t find our pivks, order online. After reading all the input I’m starting to veer away from the blackberry idea now though, we wanted something that grows fast and will fill in the empty area, but I’m thinking there isn’t enough sun and keeping it neat will be complicated.
Now leaning towards more currants, more honeyberry, or experimenting with arctic kiwi.
I’m leaning towards trying one of these now, thanks for all the info! I just have to figure out how to make my wet heavy soil work, maybe with raised bed. We have 25 ft so i think enough room for a M and F, maybe 2 F. Do you have a favorite variety? Or one that is more foolproof than another? I’d love you see pictures of your plants and trellises!