Edible landscaping

Here is a picture of the Silverberry Shrub. There are many Elaeagnus listed as Silverberry but this one is Elaeagnus x ebbingei. It is a relative of the Goumi. This is an extremely easy to grow shrub that creates a profusion of berries. You would grow this where you want to create a border or hedge since it is fast growing and dense. It is not invasive since it is a hybrid and the seed germination rate is low. The berries taste very tart/astringent until they are very ripe and then they taste like cantalope or melon. The seed is edible but you need to remove the husk. It also tastes tart until ripe. This bush is available at many local nurseries but not Lowes or Home Depot that I have seen. They are pretty cheap too. There is nothing special about their looks. They look like a million other hedges out there other than they produce edible food. They are hardy to 0F degrees or less. They bloom in fall and smell like vanilla and are ripe in March. They are evergreen.




This message was edited Mar 26, 2010 1:27 PM

I should be getting a number of new plants and seeds I have never tried next week. They are for my shade loving plant experiment.

Very cold hardy:
Thimbleberry
Salmonberry
Salal
Huckleberry
Gooseberry
Honeyberry

Zone 8b and up
Chilean Bellflower
Sweet Appleberry
Tazberry

Zone 9a and up
Naranjilla
Lilly Pilly

Will let everyone know how they go.

I'll be interested to hear about several of those berry plants, like Gooseberry and Honeyberry. I was looking at them, but don't have enough space to do much experimentation and it wasn't clear how they do in high heat conditions.

Most of those will be heat tested. I think the Appleberry is fine. We had a baby one from last year that made it through the winter at 14 degrees and is still chugging along.

Jujube, any updates on your Serviceberry? I have a shrub that may have bit the dust this winter, and am thinking about getting one of them if they will fruit in Texas heat. My wife and I have really gotten into edible landscaping - hopefully we get some good production after all of this work. :)

Stephanietx, I potted up three blackberries for you about a month ago, and they seem to have survived and are getting a lot of new growth on them. I will bring them to the RU in Arlington.

I didnt have any problem with my first two in the Texas heat. I was more concerned with them getting enough cold.

Here in one called the Southern Juneberry/Serviceberry that I dont have but should do fine here. It is supposed to take record heat and cold.

http://www.forestfarm.com/product.php?id=477

I planted Regent Serviceberry and it has fruit and took the heat.

Amelanchier Lamark did pretty good and has fruit.

Downy Serviceberry is supposed to be from North Texas.

Running Serviceberry "Success" also fruited.

Amelanchier Grandifolia "apple serviceberry" did pretty good too.

Just remember, give them the place that gets the coldest in the winter and a minimum of 6 hours sun in the Spring.

There were no Pineapple Guava at Marshall Grain this weekend, so I am still looking.

If you drive thru Austin or San Marcos, let me know cause I have seen them at multiple nurseries this Spring.

Here's an update on how things are doing in this heatwave:

- Pineapple guava and goumi are doing the best. Not even a yellowed leaf on either one. No fruit on the guava yet, and a single berry formed on the goumi.

- Blackberries and carpet raspberries are also doing well, although not as perfect as pineapple guava or guomi. The blackberries actually produced this year, but not the raspberries.

- I thought that the goji berry was dead, but new leaves just formed on it so hopefully it was just dormant in all the heat. I got about a dozen berries off of it.

- The chilean guava is doing the worst. One of them is very crispy looking but alive, but I think the other one is dead. No fruit yet.

I wish I had room to try something bigger, like a serviceberry, but oh well.....

Serviceberry can easily be pruned into a small bush about 4-5 feet tall.

My Goji dropped all their leaves too this year. Too much heat and humidity.
Pineapple Guava fruit still have 2 months to go.
Passionfruit is going nuts. It is Maypop and will grow in zone 6. Lots of fruit.
Kumquats are all starting to flower right now.
Honeyberries are hating the heat even in shade.
Buckets of Figs this year.
Jujube fruited some but doubled in size.
Serviceberries put on their first crops.
Blackberries did okay.
Asian Pears did good.
Pineapple Quince is doing good.
Clove Currant: hanging in there
Evergreen Huckleberry: hanging in there
Salmonberry: hanging in there

Potted plants:

Jamaican Cherry has lots of fruit almost everyday.
Starfruit has fruit on the tree right now.
Guavas are about to ripen.

Plants that died due to heat:

Thimbleberry:
Salal
Gooseberry

How do you know when maypop fruit is ready to eat?
C

It falls on the ground.
Then you can even put it on the counter for a few days if you want.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that DG's word of the week was rosa-sinensis. I read something in DG's definition that is rarely stated or known. The petals are edible. As a collector and part-time hybridizer of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis for many years this is something I practiced all the time. They are a good source of vitamin C. I usually serve them up in a tossed salad. Better yet, if you're entertaining or bringing the salad to a dinner party, line the bowl with petals finishing with the outer edge of petals forming a halo around the edge of the bowl. Makes a great presentation and this simple salad will be the talk of the dinner. The dilemma is that the blooms that are left on the plant will be limp by evening dinner time.

The trick for making the bloom wait until later in the day to open is to pick the bloom-ready buds in the morning before they open. Wrap each bud in a damp paper towel and put in the crisper of the refrigerator. About 4 hours before they are to be used take them out and set the buds upright in a warm location. A way to do this is by using cone shaped drink or snowcone cups with the tip cut out just large enough to hold the bud upright. Sometimes the bud may need a little gentle help in opening.

Disclaimer: The plants must not be treated with any pesticides, miticides or any other chemicals not labeled for food source plants. Read the labels before proceeding.

Very interesting and very good instructions, I can see that you love your flowers.

I'm thinking about changing a few more things around in my beds, and thought I would revive this thread. :)

Jujube, how are your serviceberry doing? I have a spot opening up for a 5-6 foot shrub in a nearly full sun location along a south facing wall, but with some late afternoon shade, and was thinking about a "Regent" serviceberry or possibly some sort of chokeberry. If you could only have one, which one would you pick?


This message was edited Jan 14, 2011 9:17 PM

Dont go with the Aronia "Chokeberry" unless you want juice.

The Regent is doing great. Since we are going to have a lower chill this year, it will be a good test of how low of a chill they need to fruit. I had multiple Almenchier Alnifolia fruit last year as well. The Serviceberry "Downy" is native to Northeast Texas so that is a good one to try. I got mine from Reeseville Ridge Nursery. You have to send them a check but they are really nice trees/shrubs and cheap.

http://www.reesevilleridgenursery.com/

www.burntridgeNursery.com has Northline and Regent. I will be trying Northline for the first time this spring.

To answer your question, they took the heat and drought again like champs. Full sun they tend to drop some leaves if it gets blistering during drought but grow them right back. If you give them partial sun, they do really well.

I have about new 6-7 cultivars that I planted last year that will be getting their first spring. I am excited to see how they all do.

Regent with about 7 hours of sun a day with late afternoon shade has really done the best so far. I hope that helps. The fruit is very good and unique in taste.

They are not fast growing so be patient the first year as it sulks above and grows vigorously below.

Dont forget about dwarf fruit trees. You can get Peaches that only get five feet tall. I believe they have Apples and Pears that only get a little bigger too. Make sure you get dwarf and not semi-dwarf.

Thanks, Jujube. I think I will try the Regent serviceberry. Where did you get yours? The ones from Burnt Ridge seem quite small.

It was an online place in California but it took forever and the shipping was over-priced. I cant remember the name. They are pretty common on the internet. I suspect the largest you will find will be around 2-3 feet.

People are always making fun of me when my beds look so empty because most of the trees and shrubs I have planted are 2 ft tall or less... Oh well, might as well continue the trend. :)

any advice on what blueberry bush/shrub I should be growing in Texas?? I was hoping to get one where I didn't need 2 of them... the one last year have not done well...& I don't expect them to grow any this year. I am growing them in containers as I don't have the space.... thanks.

My PowderBlue produced the first year without a pollinator.

thank you jujube... will that grow here in the north of TX??

You need acid soil and 500 chill hours. I know lots of people grow Blueberries up in Northeast Texas because of the very acid soil. I would say you have a very good chance.

great... when you mean "chill" hours is that inside in the refridgerator or outside in cooler temps?? Thank you so much for all your advise... I am going into this "blind" & was not aware of all this last year until late in the season. I was not told of any "chilling" periods either. I am familiar with doing it for seeds only.

"Chill requirement" is the number of hours between 32-45F. Many new models no longer include the hours below 32F. It actually gets much more detailed than that but I just look at maps. I believe the Dallas area gets about 800 hours of chill.

Many fruit trees and berries require a certain amount of chill or they will not flower and fruit well or even at all. For instance, if I bought an Apple that requires 1000 chill hours and planted it in San Marcos, TX that gets only 450 chill hours, I would never get any fruit. That is why I only plant low chill Apples like Anna, Dorsett or Ein Shemer. They only require 150-300 chill hours.

If I am interested in buying a fruit tree, I get the name of the cultivar and Google it with the words "chill requirement". For instance, I will Google "powder blue blueberry chill requirement" and check three sources for the chill requirement. Many sites will fib a little on the chill to try and sell more. My hits for Powder Blue brought up 400 to 650 so I estimated around 500 hours. If you get close to the chill, you will probably get fruit but not as much. With 800 chill hours in Dallas, there will be few fruits that you can not plant.

If I were you, I would check on Blueberries, Elderberries, Cherries and Apples. Anything that is grown quite a bit in the northern states would be one you would want to check. You are definitely not in a low chill area.

I forgot to mention that I started a blog about growing edible landscaping. It is still pretty new but I hope to document each plant and how they do in the yard.

www.ufarm.net

I am so excited. I have been trying to grow an edible groundcover for the last few years with pretty poor results. The Strawberries always suffered in the hot summer and the Creeping Raspberry said it didnt like my clay soil.

Well today I was pulling up some weeds that I have been battling for the last few years. They are an attractive sprawling plant but tend to take over an area and then die back in the hottest months. I wanted to feed them to the chickens but whent I did a plant ID I found out they are completely edible AND TASTY. They are Chickweed and they dont have that strong bitter taste like other wild edibles. I found that you can id them by leaves, flower and by tiny hairs growing on the stem. Some people call them invasive and they are probably right but I am going to start eating them instead of pulling. Lets see if my tummy can take them out.

pics

flower

I agree with you.. the chickweed is a welcome sight here too. It's full of nutrients and a nice early spring edible that is great eaten fresh or makes a nice tea to cleanse the system. and the chickens think it's delicious!

I know many think it's a weed but not I...besides who decided lawn is preferred over nice edible spring herbs and greens? lawn is a weed to me!! LOL

If it grows every year with no assistance from me and it is edible, it is a winner in my book.

Whooops! I take that back. I had a serious Amaranth outbreak last year. That stuff can get tall and really reseed.



This message was edited Jan 27, 2011 4:10 PM

Did you grow Amaranth during the Summer? What type did you grow and did you eat the leaves?

I am not even sure. I planted 2 Amaranth plants a few years ago. They were not the decorative ones. I ate the leaves and fed them to the chickens and then they went to seed. The following year I had about 300 plants in multiple locations. I tried pulling them up but if they broke off at the base, they would come right back and seed low to the ground. I will wage war on them again this spring. There really isnt a reason for me to grow them as I saw them all in the neighborhood and on the hwy.

Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking about it b/c of the colorful seedheads and eating them.

I believe the Elephant and red varities are not as prolific as the common.

A comment on Raspberries, I got an ever-bearing variety called Dinkum (an Australian variety) from Rolling River nursery, it was good sized and came potted which was nice. They bore berries from around August to December, and even lasted through a couple light freezes. They are said to be able to handle our super hot and humid weather. I'm SW of Houston. So far so good.
Rolling River usually shows the Dinkum out of stock on their website, but if you call or email (expect a delayed reply) they usually have a few in stock to ship. I also ordered the two types of Feijoa (pineapple guava) that are supposed to be Self-fertile, from them; Coolidge and Nazemetz. Again, the web site had them listed as sold out, but when I contacted them, they had a couple in stock. They also came in a good sized pot, I'm thinking they ship most of their plants that way. I think I prefer the potted, even though it is higher shipping, the plants look and do so much better.


This message was edited May 31, 2011 7:26 AM

Did you keep it in the pot?

I think that I am going to have to order a Dinkum and try it in a pot. Raspberries are my absolute favorite fruit, and I have always been disappointed that there are not any good ones that do well down here. I have to try this one. I did some searching on the internet and saw some other references to it doing well in Florida, so it must not require much chill at all.

Watch out Dennis....I know where you live!