Growing berry fruits in pots.

Lotus-eater

Have you got any space in the ground at all?

Optimisticpair

wayne1983 wrote: »

Cheers, can i ask though is there any 'specially designed' canes/bushes, that are native to the wild, that are trained specifically for pots and small spaces?.
Reasons i ask is there is 'dwarf' apple trees on the market, thanks:beer:

Sorry, haven't heard of any. The dwarf apple trees are an apple which has been grafted on to a less vigorous rootstock.

You can grow 3 rasp canes in a triangle or 4 in a square rather than in rows to save on space. I wonder if it's possible to build a tall container for one and use a stepladder to harvest if horizontal space is an issue.

Glitterati

I've got two raspberry plants in pots and also a blueberry plant. Raspberries seem to be doing really well as they were apparently already 2 years old (from homebase I think). One of my raspberry plants is much bigger than the other and has loads of green raspberries on it at the moment, can't wait for them to ripen! yum! I think I will put them into the ground when I have my own house though :-)

SallyForth_2

I have raspberries and blackcurrents in pots in their second year. The blackcurrents are fruiting, but I am not sure yet what the raspberries will do. We did have thin them out last month as they went a bit mad and produced loads of new canes, I have transferred these thinnings to new pots, so we will see what happens.

4li5on

I've been growing raspberries in pots for about 6 years now and never had any problems.
I put my first cane in an old metal bin 6 years ago and it is still fruiting with huge juicy fruits every year (first flowers are just opening now!).
The following year I saw an offer in a magazine for 4 canes for x number of pounds. They were only very small with not much life at all. I planted 2 together in 2 large pots (2ft across and 18" deep) and they've been there since. Loads of suckers and new growth and going from strength to strength. Didn't fruit first year, but we've had loads and loads for the past few summers.

Thought I had lost all of the canes over the winter so had to do some emergency pruning in March to sort them out, so this year only about 3 foot above the top of the pots, usually grow to about 6ft!

I think the key to growing them in pots is water. Make sure the pots have plenty of drainage holes and water the every other day (at least) until the water runs through. When they are fruiting, the need the water. The amount of foliage they grow prevents the rainwater getting to the soil as easily, so you need to spend time watering. Also, a good feed every 10 days will help keep them in good shape.

I love my raspberries and would encourage anyone to give them a go in pots. Spend the time and look after them and they'll fruit well!

wayne1983

Thanks for the tips. Ive been told autumn raspberries are better than summer ones in pots?:question:

betony

Firstly, hello to you all :wave:

I've been successfully growing lots of edibles in pots for years ('cos my old garden was a huge jungle that I couldn't manage), including soft fruit. My gooseberies, red and white currants are particularly good but, as with many large plants in pots, they need to be fed regularly and watered as needed. I've also got a blackcurrant cutting from my mother's garden and have to say that despite fruiting pretty well every year, my mother's plant is MUCH bigger, more healthy and produces way more than mine.

Now I have a smaller garden that I can manage, I'm planning on planting all my fruit bushes out. I should get much better yields from most.

Wayne, have you thought of goji berries? They're very 'in' now and very easy to grow.

wayne1983

betony wrote: »

Firstly, hello to you all :wave:

I've been successfully growing lots of edibles in pots for years ('cos my old garden was a huge jungle that I couldn't manage), including soft fruit. My gooseberies, red and white currants are particularly good but, as with many large plants in pots, they need to be fed regularly and watered as needed. I've also got a blackcurrant cutting from my mother's garden and have to say that despite fruiting pretty well every year, my mother's plant is MUCH bigger, more healthy and produces way more than mine.

Now I have a smaller garden that I can manage, I'm planning on planting all my fruit bushes out. I should get much better yields from most.

Wayne, have you thought of goji berries? They're very 'in' now and very easy to grow.

Whats goji berries sorry , what are the taste like, cheers:beer::D

betony

Goji berries are very nutritious and have many health benefits. They are supposed to have a mild liquorice-ie flavour and can be bought dried in health food shops and most supermarkets these days.

Try searching online and see what comes up!

wayne1983

betony wrote: »

Goji berries are very nutritious and have many health benefits. They are supposed to have a mild liquorice-ie flavour and can be bought dried in health food shops and most supermarkets these days.

Try searching online and see what comes up!

Thanks they look different!. Did you say you grow them personally?