What should I plant?

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catfishhoward Stockbridge, GA Apr 25, 2014

I have an area 5' x 14' in a landscape island in 8 hours of sun, good wind cover, I live in Atlanta Georgia.

I would like a fruit or berry bush, something edible, I'm not a picky eater, maximum height with pruning 3'. I would like to still try to keep the look of landscape bush though, 14' long. Not really wanting an herb. I love blackberries but there are so many kinds I'm know sure if I can prune them to look like a landscape bush 14' long, and they need to be easy to maintain year to year.

Thanks, Paul

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Apr 25, 2014

Edible landscaping can be nice looking as well as useful.

Look into some of the Blueberries. Most are shrubs. But watch out for a couple of things:
They are very picky about location. Make sure you get a variety (or several varieties) that are well suited to your area.
Many get much larger than 3'. If you get a variety that grows to only 4' then pruning to 3' is quite all right. But if you get one that wants to grow to 6' then it will be difficult to keep it at half its normal size.

Another idea: build a trellis system at the height you want and grow raspberries. They are a bit less rampant than black berries.

Look into currants and gooseberries. Find something that will fruit in your area. Make sure you are allowed to grow them (some are alternate hosts to a pine disease, so the lumber industry does not want them near any forests)

Arbutus unedo has edible fruit, and there are dwarf varieties. The fruit is bland. If it is used at all people add a LOT of sugar to it and make jam. OK to eat fresh, but not very interesting. Pretty, though.

Carrisa macrocarpa, Natal Plum has some dwarf forms. Frosts easily.

Mahonia aquifolium has edible fruit. A dwarf would stay smaller than the species.

Genetic Dwarf Peach, Nectarine and other fruits might be OK. They ultimately can get over 6', but grow so slowly (less than 6" per year) you should think about them. Make sure it will fruit in your zone.

I know you said no to herbs, but there are perennial or shrubby herbs that will look like landscape shrubs, and you harvest leaves whenever you want. Rosemary, Lavender, Absinthe to name a few.

You might plant 3-5 plants in that area, depending on which ones you want and how dense you want to plant them, so you could easily have a mixed bed.

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catfishhoward Stockbridge, GA Apr 29, 2014

Thanks, for the reply, I ended up planting 3 different blueberries and some raspberry shortcake.

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