North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

Ginda:
    Another plant that goes well in shade and has edible (and good) fruit is
Salal - Gaultheria shallon.  It's a native here, also, and it grows under
trees very nicely.  It's a large shrub, but it's relative, Gaultheria
procumbens, (wintergreen) is a groundcover.  It's very shade tolerant.
    I really don't think highly of Raintree or OGW.  I know both the owners
( I worked for both, actually) and don't respect them.  Mislabled stock
(sometimes deliberately), disease, overcharging, cheating the originators of
varieties, and more.  
    Incidently, with pawpaw, you probably wouldn't have to worry about being
inundated with them.  They take a number of years to bear, and even if you
do get a lot of fruit, if there are any possums or raccoons in the area,
they will make short work of them - they LOVE the fruit.  I haven't had
many, but I like pawpaws a lot - the aroma is sort of banana -like, but
that's about as far as it goes.  The flesh is creamy, like custard, and very
good.
    Oh yes, Cornus mas is QUITE hardy - to zone 3 or 4, at least, and with
flowers that take temps in the mid to low 20's during bloom and still set.
-Lon
Grapes, unusual fruits, writing, consulting, more, at
http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom  See new additions to the site, Feb. 2001,
plus word on my grape book.

    
----------
>From: Ginda Fisher <ginda@concentric.net>
>To: lonrom@hevanet.com
>Subject: Re: [nafex] Western Huckleberry:  Vaccinium Ovatum
>Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001, 7:06 PM
>

>Lon, the real issue is that I have very little sun to spare.  We are all
>limited by time, money, energy, interest, imagination, and land.  Right
>now, my tightest limit is land.  The coveted sunny spots are pretty much
>taken with currants, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus,
>and a grape vine.  Also, I'm fooling around with apples.  My husband and
>kids will be unhappy if I eat up any more of the open space.
>
>But I do have some shady and partially shady spots I can plant in.  A
>while ago I asked this list what I can grow in the shade.  The
>suggestions that came back were some currants, cornus mas, and pawpaw. 
>But I already have currants in the sun, more research shows that cornus
>mas grows nicely as an ornamental (flowers) in the shade, but likes sun
>to produce fruit, and I'm a little nervous about pawpaw.  I have visions
>of none of us liking the fruit, and then ending up with large rotting
>banana-like fruits on the ground in the backyard.  (I don't think I've
>ever had pawpaw, and it sounds more "interesting" than "we'll eat it
>all".  But I'm not a huge fan of bananas, either.)
>
>Despite the warnings, I've ordered some cornus mas from one green world
>- if they don't produce fruit, at least they should be pretty.  I'll
>probably try pawpaw one of these days, too.  But that evergreen
>huckleberry sounds like it might be a really nice addition - assuming it
>is hardy enough to survive.
>
>Have you had problems beyond over-enthusiastic descriptions from OGW or
>Raintree?
>
>Best,
>Ginda
>
>
>Ginda Fisher wrote:
>> 
>> Thanks.  Truth be told, I'm looking for something evergreen and vaguely
>> ornamental for the spot, as it's between my bedroom window and the
>> backyard neighbor's window.  So far, I've considered a small conifer, a
>> large rhododendron, a hardy camellia (marginal in the climate) and the
>> evergreen huckleberry (probably also marginal).  I already have real
>> blueberries in full sun, although I carefully selected them for smaller
>> berries (personal preference.  These are for us, not commercial.)  A bit
>> dry is a defect, but attracts birds is a benefit - I really enjoy the
>> birds, and have lots of nets to keep them off my berries.
>> 
>> I guess you've answered the question of why no one offers it here,
>> though.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Ginda
>> 
>> "Lon J. Rombough" wrote:
>> >
>> > Don't take either of these places that seriously.  V. ovatum generally 
>> > has
>> > pretty small berries that take an awful lot of work to pick and they 
>> > tend to
>> > be a bit dry.  Even if the plants do well, you'll likely wind up leaving
>> > them for the birds before long.  The evergreen foliage is nice (it's 
>> > often
>> > used by florists for greens) and it gets a bronzy look in cold weather.  
>> > It
>> > DOES grow in partial shade - it's a common understory plant in the 
>> > Pacific
>> > NW.  If you want the plants for fruit, go with commercial blueberries -
>> > you'll enjoy them more.
>> > -Lon Rombough
>> > Grapes, unusual fruits, writing, consulting, more, at
>> > http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom  See new additions to the site, Feb. 2001,
>> > plus word on my grape book.
>> >
>> > ----------
>> > >From: Ginda Fisher <ginda@concentric.net>
>> > >To: nafex@yahoogroups.com
>> > >Subject: [nafex] Western Huckleberry:  Vaccinium Ovatum
>> > >Date: Fri, Mar 23, 2001, 7:13 PM
>> > >
>> >
>> > >Has anyone tried to grow the Pacific NW evergreen huckleberry on the
>> > >east coast?  Raintree and One Green World both claim it is a fruit that
>> > >grows well in partial shade (of which I have some spare) and I'm
>> > >wondering if it will make it here.  Raintree bills it hardy zones 7-10,
>> > >OGW 6-9.  I'm zone 6, and think it might be worth a shot.  I can give it
>> > >some protection and plenty of mulch - so long as it likes oak leaves.
>> > >
>> > >Thanks,
>> > >Ginda Fisher
>> > >Eastern Mass, zone 6
>> > >
>> 
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