Alright that’s what I’ll do, I’ll also add root barrier over a big area so that the tree has more room than in a pot but would get under the lawn.
I got all my figs through by bringing them inside form 12/23 through Groundhog Day. And again for about 10 days Mid March. Lost one pomegranate that I forgot to bring inside.
Currants leaved out early, as did some of the gooseberries.
They actually came through 19 degrees F better than some of the honeyberry bushes, as none of their leaves got blackened and some honeyberry tips got fried. (And some not, on the same plant).
Serviceberries to bloom early April here it looks like.
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Same here. I noticed that honeyberry flowers and fruitlets seem hardier than young shoots. My few little bushes have been blooming for some time now–and one has retained a few little incipient berries, despite the March freezes and burned tips. I hope they are good to eat, because they seem pretty tough! I just added an “Indigo Gem” I got from @Blake.
Yeah, sarvis flowers will be coming along pretty soon.
I need to lightly prune and put a little copper on Romance cherries. I’m really behind on all that maintenance.
One observation on Romance cherries: so far, “Carmine Jewel” tends to get a lot of cankers here; “Romeo” a moderate amount; and “Juliet” few to no cankers. Only a couple of years of observation—but that’s what I’ve seen so far.
Leaves or no, I need to open up the gooseberries a little. I recently popped out another mislabeled “Pixwell” (sold as “Invicta”) and replaced it with a “Hinnomaki Yellow” layer. You should’ve seen the roots on that Pixwell! (I didn’t need the darned thing, but I hated to toss something so healthy—and productive and easy!—so crammed it in somewhere else.)
Hinno Yellow is still a runt. I put it in that spot because it’s a row of smaller gooseberries at 3’ spacing (which is why that Pixwell absolutely had to go), and also because it gets afternoon shade. Thought it might do better there, with some extra fertilizer. The original is still a small, ground-hugging clump of thorns, and hasn’t ripened a berry yet. Usually, gooseberry tip layers are vigorous, rooty things—sometimes, more vigorous than the mother plant—but the Hinno Yellow layers are more of the same: low vigor, small root mass. Probably a waste of time, but I guess I hate to give up.
On that note, “Friend” has been a dud so far—not a berry one. I will say that the layer that I put in my afternoon shade bed has grown better than the original mother, which I tossed a couple of years ago. Maybe this year . . . In its defense, it is almost thornless.
I planted “Poorman” last year, but its leaves showed clear viral symptoms (mosaic, vein banding, etc.) very early on, so I destroyed it. Burned by another big nursery . . .
Clove currants getting ready to bloom here. Don’t think the freezes have hurt them—yet. Trying to see if I can get them to tip layer.
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my Crandal clove was slow to establish compared to other currants but needs less care than the others. Jerry on here has them growing and fruiting for him in z10a and they are growing wild up into z2 central Canada. you southern guys should be growing it just for that reason. its also drought tolerant.
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Plus they’re pretty and smell nice! 
The ones I got last year made a few flowers, so got to experience them a little.
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wait until they are covered in them. you can smell it from across the yard. mines 4 years old and from a distance, looks solid yellow when it bloomed.
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Have Poorman and Black Velvet, vigorous thorny growth and good fruitset. Poorman tastes good, like a tart somewhat interesting grape. Black Velvet is smaller and less tasty and birds get most of them. I cut mine back to 4" and will likely take them out after this year. They’re dangerous to be around and the picked berries are a hassle to eat because I have to pick both ends.
My red/white/pink currants do okay, yielding maybe 2-4 quarts. Pain to pick and the taste isn’t that great fresh, though my husband eats them with Greek yogurt. I once saw a really beautifully grown red currant in Montreal botanical garden with shiny fully filled clusters of red berries, so I just keep growing mine hoping that I will eventually figure out how to do that. I think I have most of the varieties on the market but haven’t kept up with labels, they seem pretty similar except for color.
My black currants have near dime size berries but are a hassle to pick because they ripen at different times so I have to pick individually. The window between when they’re ripe enough to eat fresh and when the bird gets them is usually in hours, so birds get most of them. I’ll probably get rid of them soon. Most of them end up soaking in alcohol to make cassis and I don’t drink enough. I can probably keep a Crandall for its nice flowers and have enough fruit to make the quart or so I would drink every year.
No experience with serviceberries.
Have 2 carmine jewels cherries in their 5th leaf and maybe 6’ tall and somewhat less wide. Last year they might have produced 3 quarts each. Good for jam or cherry whisky (just soak pie cherries in cheap blended whisky for about 3 months and maybe add a spoonful of sugar per quart, it’s delicious). Hoping this is the year they will take off. They flower after my cherry blossom tree and seem pretty reliable with setting. Birds will go after them after they turn red but I haven’t had to net them yet. I used to have two Meader bred bush cherries. They were absolutely loaded the second year when they were less than 2’ tall and then promptly died. Didn’t like the taste at all, tasted bitter and not like pie cherries.
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I had honeyberries in FULL BLOOM a few weeks ago go through 15 F with no issue or damage. They now have little green berries and are still blooming. NO leaf or shoot damage. I was very impressed.
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Honeyberries make great pies. Not that great raw.
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I think this might be relative to each person’s taste and the cultivar. My family and I eat Aurora fresh and like them.
Out of the berries listed in the title, my favorite is serviceberry (Standing Ovation).
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“Ovation” I don’t have any experience, but I agree serviceberries are the best for fresh eating. (Seeds too big for good jam and pies in my opinion though.)
Have not yet seen a serviceberry in bloom…and I have seen them in bloom in March some years previously. But could have happened since Tuesday, as I’ve not been looked since.
My honeyberries seem to have only 3 or 4 berries still retained…though hardly any got pollinated except the couple times I used a q-tip. Have 4 varieties that bloomed, one that didn’t, and 2 that seem not to have survived (Including a 3 y.o. Indigo Gem.).
(Blue Moon, Blue Velvet and Tundra I sold years ago–but have tasted those in years past.)
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i love aurora fresh. and with a little sugar and cream. they rarely are around long enough to make a pie with.
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Took note that Amish Red and Hinomaki Red gooseberries opened up since yesterday in a nice bloom.
Black September is only currant
I noticed blooms on, but it’s also the one I have the most plants of.
I have tried honeyberry on two separate occasions. Here they just cook. It is far too warm for them where I live. My serviceberry has lived so far.
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which ones did you try? its more likely they didnt get enough moisture. they have fine shallow roots and dry out easily. the newer/ later fruiting , pure Japanese ones dont get wind damage and are more heat tolerant. you’re only a zone higher than me so they should do good. try mulching them heavy. even with my clay soil they do like lots of mulch. they naturally lose or their leaves look bad in hot weather but will send out new ones once the weather cools.
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I tried two blue banana and a giant’s heart honey berry. Everything around them lived but not them.
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I’ve got Autumn Brilliance service berry. Do the other varieties offer different flavors or are they all basically the same profile?
Just for info, AB is a rust magnet and must be sprayed.
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This may have already been mentioned in the thread but Lee Reich’s Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden has rather in depth cultivar and variety recommendations! From his recommended lists, I tend to like the pink and white currents the best. Really tasty out of hand
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I live in zone 6a and they are doing okay here. Here’s a pic of Aurora in it’s 4th leaf from last week:
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I was wondering if anyone here knows if Juliet bush cherry yields viable seed that grows true to type?
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