Lingonberries? What are you growing and how is it doing?

I'm thinking of adding more lingonberries and was wondering what varieties and experiences are out there to help me choose? I'm growing Ida and Red Pearl, but the Ida do much better fruiting than the Red Pearl. Only problem is that my 3 year old Ida's don't appear to be spreading yet. Apparently these are from cuttings, which apparently don't spread much.

I just added 3 dwarf lingonberries this spring and although they look perky - they don't seem to be spreading either.

Oh, I love lingonberries. I wish they would grow down here but I'm afraid to even try them. I'll settle for getting lingonberry preserves at World Market.

Cat, I added dwarf lingonberry to my collection last year, and this year they quadrupled or better. I started with 1 4" potted plant and now my plants cover about1.5' square area. No fruit on these guys yet. They are a beautiful groundcover. My Ida's are always covered in large berries, but don't spread much if at all.

Did they grow the first year you put them in? Mine are just kind of hanging in there. I gave them some acid loving shrub fertilizer last week to see if that would help. They are next to the blueberries that grow and bear like crazy - so the soil has to be acid enough for them.

Cat, Yes, Idid the acid soil, using lots of peat. Plant sizes haven't changed much for Ida, They were mature plants purchasd at a nursery and transplanted. Each year there are new stems, but also some minor dieback. Plants fruit like crazy, but don't spread. I'll try topost a pic, but broke 3 ribs and wrist yesterday, so may take a while.

krowton - Are you OK?

Sure, just spending a lot of time contemplating that 50 year olds should remember that they are no longer 20 :) when it comes to sports.
I'm moving kinda slow and everything takes a lot longer to get done. Broke the left ribs and right wrist. The wrist is more of a problem as I am right handed. Can't pick up anything from the ground, lie down, or apply more than aobut 5 lbs of force, but there are ways to get stuff done if you think things thru.

Here's a picture of one of my Ida lingonberries, several years old.

Also a closeup of the fruit

They are a lot more compact than I expected - but cute. Do you remember where you got them from - I'd like to add some to the plant zoo here.

Just saw your post on the seed forum,these look very interesting. I don't have any same type to trade .Would you consider a thornless blackberry plant? I have some comming up in the edge of my grass that need a new home.
Photo of fruit from mom currently producing.

Cat, the plant pictured was a 4" pot from Raintree several years ago, transplanted to a 2 gallon pot the year I received it. Raintree appears to be the only souce I can find of multiple varieties of Lingonberry. If I recall correctly, they sell Red Pearl, Ida, Balsgard, and Dwarf. I've all 4 of them. Balsgard and Dwarf obtained last year. Balsgard appears to have berries similat to Ida, but it is too soon for me to compare much to Ida. Red Pearl berries smaller for me than Ida and not as sweet. RP's skin seems more bitter to me than Ida as well. I cannot comment on Balsgard or Dwarf fruit yet. Balsgard plant appears to be taller than Ida, Red Pearl is also taller. Dwarf is much smaller but seems to be spreading very well for me. I took some more pics tonight and will post below. I've recently taken cuttings and planted seed of Ida, but right now do not have anything to trade other than the fresh fruit.

Gus, I'd love to have some of the newer blackberries such as you show, but unfortunately just do not have the space. I would first like to see if there is anyone that wants to trade lingonberry seed, but if there are no other takers, would be willing to send a few seed fruit for postage. Can you wait a week or two?

Here's a pic of my Balsgard...The two tall stems in the middle are new growth.

MY dwarfs came from Raintree as well. They owe me an apricot in the spring soI might as well order some Ida's from them. I have my dwarfs in full sun - any chance they could make do with some shade?

Here's a pic of my dwarf lingonberry. I started with a 4" pot last year and transplanted into this 14" shallow pot last month, dividing a bit. I have two other 1 gallons doing well too.

I'm just not getting any spreading at all. Maybe I should print this picture and show it to them.

My dwarfs (and other lingons) appear to not care too much. They all do get some direct sun every day, but I've had some in semi shade without apparent problems. Being in pots, they get moved around from time to time.

I can under stand that space could be a problem they do get rather large.I would very much like to try a few seeds and would gladly wait.Hope you can find someone to trade with.These are new to me, I am learning a lot here at DG .
Do you grow gooseberries? My sister just gave me a start of one that is small and has loads of berries.

I got my first gooseberries this year. They tasted like rather flat grapes. The bush is quite pretty, however.

Cat, my dwarfs are in 50% peat, 50% sand with maybe a small part of good soil. Being in pots and draing well, they do not sit in water at all, but do get water 2-3 times per week. I have not attempted to fertilize them. I hope that helps. When I notice that they appear dry, I will water them, but they do dry out from time to time. Since we got ours from the same place, we probably have the same plants. If yours are in ground, then I might suspect a water or soil issue. These have been very easy for me and are thriving with very little attention.

MIne are in soil amended with lots of compost and coffee grounds (free from Starbucks). Maybe they are soggy.

Cat and Gus, I am a gooseberry fanatic, having about 15 varieties. Flat grapes just does not do them credit. What varieities do you have? I've spent the summer so far working on propagating mine for spring trades. Some varieties are not worth growing and some are very good. Let's talk!

YankeeCat, I'd suggest trying some in a pot with the 50/50 mix as an experiment.

The gooseberry is Pixwell.

Sorry as for me I don't know They come off my Grandmothers farm and I'm sure they have been there for years. I just know they are tasty and produce well.

Early on I saw mixed reviews for Pixwell flavor and never got one. Unfortunately, when nurseries sell gooseberriers, that's the one they tend to have. I could never understand that. They hurt their own sales by selling a poor varieity.

My favorites are Hinnomaki Red, Hinnomaki Yellow, Poorman, Black Velvet and Crandal (a currant). I recommend you try these. H. yellow is a low growing, sprawling plant, Crandal has very pretty sping flowers and great fruit when ripe and H. red and poorman have red fruit, which I think is the best tasting. Black Velvet is dark purple and has a very rich flavor. Jostaberry is also worthwhile.

All of the above are easy to grow and start to produce early.

Any of them take shade?

To my knowledge most gooseberries and currants can do semi shade. I put up some shade cloth each summer to partially shade some of mine to cut down on watering needs. For best fruiting though, I would give some sun each day if possible. Keep in mind all of the above have thorns except Jostaberry and take some time to size up. Fruiting starts within a year or two.

krowten - how do I prune my gooseberry so it will produce next year?

Cat, sorry, you are asking the wrong person about pruning gooseberries. Lee Reich's book has a lot about the various ways of pruning. My opinion only, but gooseberries will start to fruit as soon as the plant is mature enough. There are a number of ways to manage gooseberry plants by pruning depending on what you want. Most that I've seen recommend pruniing into a fan shape keeping about 6 strong leaders going at any one time. The recommendation is to remove oldest wood periodically. For my H. yellow plant, however, I end up pruning off the side growth to encourage the plant to get taller. My latest project, started this year as I have learned to successfully propagate many of the varieties I have, is to create some gb standards...basically a tree shaped gooseberry plant that has a long tree-like stem and to get the bushy part of the plant on top of the stem. Standards can be created by pruning over several years, or developing rootstock and grafting. I am trying both ways, but about 2 years away from my first standards (best guess!).

The other important thing to keep in mind in pruning is many gooseberries are vulnerable to black spot, mildew and a few other problems. A plant that is not too crowded is healthier.

Every gooseberry varieity that I've had produces fruit in its second year, assuming it had the full growing season the year before and good conditions.