Tillamoom graft starting to leaf out today
Tillamoomk one year later with two berries. About 5’ high. Similar to the first picture but one year later.
Tillamoomk one year later with two berries. About 5’ high. Similar to the first picture but one year later.
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Cliff England sells Wang Bo cuttings its bigger than Carmine/Tillamook. In a couple years he will hopefully have Gigantea cuttings for sell.
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My red gem today… grand daughter, wife and I ate 100 or more today.
A graft of Carmine on my RG.
TNHunter
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i just had my first goumis this spring, i planted 2 sweet scarlet and 2 red gems as bare roots last spring, and all fruited this year but the fruit are tiny and even when fully ripe are slightly astringent. not bad though, tastes like a tart cherry i guess. hoping they get a little bigger as the tree matures.
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@jamie … add a few grafts of Carmine to your Red Gems and Sweet Scarlet. Carmine makes a nice large fruit. They all taste about the same to me.
When my bushes were younger the astringency was much more noticable to me but now I really only notice astringency in some of the earliest fruit to ripen.
Go for the deeper red ones… and give them a squeeze with your finger tips to make sure they are soft.
TNHunter
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I agree with TNHunter. Graft some Carmine to your shrubs for the much larger fruits. Not being thorny is also a nice aspect of Carmine. Feel free to message me early next year if you’d like some scions to graft with.
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Today is May 8th.
Here is where my 4 goumi are at ripening wise. Zone 7b southern middle TN.
Red Gem… we ate our first berries on May 1. Lots are ripe and taste very good now. I detect no astringency to possibly just slight astringency in a few.
Carmine graft added a couple years ago. Larger berries, a few just turning ripe color.
Sweet scarlet… bloom just finishing… small green berries starting to size up.
Raintree… graft added this spring. Just finishing bloom and berries starting to develop.
TNHunter
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Dang these are looking good! Okay, anyone willing to share seeds or seedlings for next year? I’m thoroughly convinced to get some!
Or have a link to some that aren’t really expensive?
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I’d suggest ordering Tillamook (Carmine) from Lucille at Whitman’s farm. She has reasonable shipping prices and plant isn’t that expensive. The plant is also super super nice.
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@Tiirsys … I agree… would start with Carmine… and I always get really nice plants from Lucille.
Plant in full sun to ensure heavy fruiting.
Learn the simple modified cleft graft… and we can send you scion of Raintree, Red Gem, etc… so you can add other varieties.
TNHunter
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Thank you for the suggestions!
@EJh and @TNHunter… I will check Lucille’s stock and try to get one ordered!
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I intend to grow them. Assuming I can get my hands on the plants. I figure there isn’t much downside. I think they’re low maintenance. If I hate the fruit I can just leave the plants alone and let them sink or swim on their own. Unlike autumn olive I don’t think they get invasive.
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@Purrfur … they are low maintenance, no spray. I prune mine for height once a year late winter… I cut mine back down to 8 ft max. They put on 3-4 ft of growth each year… do a little weeding and refresh the mulch.
Taste wise … I think most would agree that they are good to very good… not excellent or great.
They are not up there with blackberries, raspberries, mulberries or a really good blueberry… but they ripen earlier than those better berries… so they are not competing with them.
Goumis to me have a mild fruity flavor and are mildly sweet and tart.
Kids love them… my granddaughter is just under 2 years old and she loves them.
TNHunter
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I want to get a bunch of seeds next year so I can either graft onto a couple dozen of them or just leave it if the variety the seed came from is worth growing out to see what I get.
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i wish i knew how to graft, so it does look like the fruits get bigger when its older…
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@jamie … 3 years ago… I did not know how to graft. Tried it and did 5 grafts that first year… all successful.
Grafting is key to getting all the varieties you want without breaking the bank.
My goumies were started in 2020… and I dont really remember first year fruit that well… but I would say as they have matured the fruit size quality and quantity have all improved.
I think I have one of the earliest ripening red gems around and the berry size is nice too. I will be glad to send you a few scions when you are ready.
TNHunter
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Am I missing out? Without goumi and strawberries I would be missing out on having early season fruit. I added some strawberry plants and was surprised that they immediately started to fruit. Yesterday morning I picked a handful of goumi berries and a few delicious strawberries. Now I’m not missing out. My blueberry bushes are loaded and they will start to ripen soon.
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Tillamook (carmine) from Lucille, been in the ground for 1 year now … loaded with berries. Probably around 40-50.
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Looks like raintree has their raintree select goumi back in stock.
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