This fall I planted two gooseberries between two sets of apple trees, with room for two more by each for in the future. But it occured to me that our wild gooseberries don’t grow together in groups – they’re scattered individually here and there. So I’ve decided I’ll add new ones here and there also. But I have room by the gooseberries I planted for some other bush type plant. I’m wondering if anyone has something growing near/beside their gooseberries that have done well? Of course, I don’t have to “fill it in”, of course, but it is a thought.
Plant a White Pine nearby. (Just kidding. That’s a joke. Gooseberries harbor a fungal disease that can impact White Pines.)
Seriously, you might consider Northcountry and Northsky blueberries- bred in Minnesota. Indiana Berry company has them.
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How about Honeyberry?
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If the soil is not right for blueberries, this would be a good choice. Well even if it is, this still would be a good choice. You need at least two for pollination. Some new cultivars are around, and breeding programs are super active right now. New cultivars are all over!
A little tart, but otherwise a great rich flavor, and beautiful color.
I don’t have a lot of experience with them. I have tasted a few, and they are great as far as I’m concerned. They can get to be big bushes, Productivity, how well they adapt to my area is still unknown. Very hardy plants.I have 4 young plants, and 3 older plants. The older plants are at my cottage on the St Clair River, and conditions are terrible there. They are not performing well there, so I added 4 to my backyard garden in Sterling Heights. Here conditions are near perfect.
My in-laws live in Cheboygan, and they have hundreds of white pines. It’s near the top of the LP.
Other plants for zone three are the romance tart cherries, and serviceberries too. Both have potential for excellent tasting berries. Also black and red/white/pink currants.
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Good ideas, all - thanks! Actually, we have plenty of white pines near by. So I plant WPBR varieties. And this is for sure BB country. I do have 9 of them already but they are in their own plot where I can put up a cage come ripening time. But I could give it a try growing a few “outside”, since I don’t have room inside the cage for any more. And there are so many more varieties that sound good!
I have 4 Honeyberries on order, too. I’ve already mulched a plot for them but I certainly could find something else to put there. But I don’t know how far apart they can be and still be adequately pollinated. Can’t seem to find much info on that (just that they have to be “nearby”). Might go well though on either side of a gooseberry. Or another small cherry, too (I have a Carmine Jewell).
Or maybe a non-fruiting flowering shrub/plant for a change… Something I know very little about. But the winter is still young. I think the deciding what to order is harder than all the later orchard work.
maybe currants? they both grow for me in shade/semi-shade (PS currants produce much more in the shade though, at least the red and white ones i have, and the black ones still grow very strong in the shade… black ones are in semi-shade on side of house that only gets morning sun, and they behind evergreen bushes my mom planted there for some reason and still grow pretty good and the bushes dont lean/reach for sunlight too much, just higher than the bushes now so it gets enough sun to produce fruit).
For gooseberries, I’d try Jeane (almost thornless?/disease-resistant), Black Velvet (blueberry-like flavor), H.Red, H.Yellow, maybe Amish Red … I heard Invicta is very good (so im buying a few this year).
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Wow, sounds like you have a lot and got the fruits possible well covered! . Ornamental bushes are probably not hardy enough like the various butterfly bushes, quinces, rose of Sharon OK ninebarks are hardy enough.
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I planted bushes (blue berries, honeyberries, grapes, kiwis, Carmine Jewel cherries, strawberries) near my home apple trees. After ten years, the apple trees are now getting so big that bagging all the apples is no longer practical, so I am thinking I may need to start spraying. However, about the time the apples would need spraying, the bushes below are often blossoming and I don’t want to kill the bees,. so I may need to tarp the bushes to spray the apples. If the bushes aren’t blossoming, you still might not want the apple spray on them if the bushes don’t need it. Since I purchased more land couple years ago, I am thinking about transplanting some of the bushes come spring, since the soil they are in is very poor and sandy, also.
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