Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

24 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 21

Blackberry‘BlackCascade’

Perfectforhangingbasketsand

produces 21 ∕ 2 lb (1.1kg)oflarge,sweet

blackberries.Plantsproducemore

than one crop in the season.

Raspberry‘AutumnBliss’

Anautumn-fruitingraspberryoften

grownin smallgardensandcontainers.

Freezeswellandremainstopfortaste.

Fruits from August until the fi rst frosts.

Blueberry‘PinkLemonade’

Smallwhiteflowersappearin spring

followedbypinkfruits.Height4ft(1.3m).

Self-fertilebutplantin a pairfora larger

crop. Needs a sunny spot and acid soil.

Blueberry‘Chandler’

Chandlerproducessweet,juicyberries

andis anattractiveshrubwithcreamy-

coloured,scentedflowersin spring,

followed by reddish foliage in autumn.

Strawberry‘Florence’

Thislate-seasonberryhasgooddisease

resistanceandis idealforpotsorbeds.

Popularthankstoitsgenerouscropof

tasty berries in July. Freezes well.

6 soft fruits to grow for top taste

2020.Thepinkfruitsareripeforpicking

in lateAugust,andalthoughtheyare

saidtobegreatin piesI’msurethey’ll

beeatenstraightfromtheplant!

AfterspeakingtoMatthewThomas,

salesmanagerof FrankP Matthews,

I wasevenmoreconvincedaboutthe

benefitsof growingsoftfruit.“Thegreat

thingaboutsoftfruitis thattheyareall

self-fertile,soif spaceis tightyoucan

growoneplantsuccessfully,”he

explained.Healsopointedoutthat

althoughtheflowersof gooseberries,

raspberriesandblackcurrants are small,

beesadorethem.

MatthewrecommendedGooseberry

‘Invicta’.It’soneof themostpopular

gooseberriesin theworld– andforgood

reason.Theflavouris strong,andit can

be grown successfully as a standard.

Five top tips for planting soft fruit

Toencourageberries, choose

a sunnyspot.

Bushysoft-fruitplantssuchas

standardgooseberriesmayneed

a supportwhenladenwithfruit.

Keep plants well-watered when

DT Brown

T&M

growingin potsbutdon’toverwater!

Softfruitwillgrowin mostsoiltypes,

butblueberriesneedan ericaceous

compostoracidsoil.

Plantin autumnasbare-root plants

and strawberries in March.

Growinga gooseberryasa standard

makesthetaskof pickingmucheasier.

HealsomentionedRedcurrant‘Rovada’,

whichhasgenerousstringsof currants

andtastesgreatwhen eaten straight

fromthebush.

Forthosewhocraveblackberry

jam,Matthew’spickwasthethornless

Blackberry ‘Apache’. This blackberry

cantoleratelightshadeand,being

thornless,it’sa sensibleoptionwhere

spacein thegardenis limited.

If I’vetemptedyoutoplantmoresoft

fruit,thenplantoorderandplantthis

autumn.Strawberriesareanexception

• I’dorderthemin Februaryforplanting
  in March.Thistimenextyear,you’ll be
  serving up summer puddings!

Raspberry‘RubyBeauty’

“Perfectforcontainers,youcanstart

pickingraspberriesfromthesethornless

plantsfromJune,”saysT&M.“Greatfor

those who like ‘low-maintenance’ plants!”

T&M T&M