growing berries in miami - mission imposible?

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goofybulb Richland, MI(Zone 5b) Aug 04, 2007

Hello!
I moved to Miami 5 years ago, and i cannot help missing the best fruit of my childhood: currants and gooseberries. One can never find them for sale here!
Does anybody know if it is possible to grow those berries (usually zones 3-7) in the humid and hot zone 10? I would gladly give it a try and do all my best for them, however I don't want to witness their death just because they are in a completely bad climate.
please advise if you can.

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bermudakiller Union Grove, AL Mar 05, 2008

I have raised gooseberies here but they never produced any berries and I'm in 7b. I called the Alabama state extension service and they told me, after several days of hunting for information, that they did not do well this far south. Shade and heavy mulch are needed for survival. I'm going to try them anyway and see what I get but zone 10 will probably not do a thing. There are new varities being tested from New Zeeland that require fewer chill hours but my guess is that zone 10 has about 0 chill hours.

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goofybulb Richland, MI(Zone 5b) Mar 06, 2008

Thank you, Bermuda, for your answer.
I also contacted a berry nursery (Nourse farms - http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/112/ ) and they said pretty much the same thing. I guess my berry memories will remain unsatisfied until I move out of Miami. However, I discovered great fruits here, so I still can get good-tasting vitamins...
On their website, they have gooseberries recommended for zones 3-7. They have a very good reputation here on DG. And, they have some info about growing conditions, and are very friendly and prompt in answering emails. Maybe they can help you get a good harvest this year.
I think my homecountry is equivalent to zone 7 (the most weather-similar city I visited was Washington, DC). Also true is that these berries grew best towards the hill and mountain side (Granny's house), and yielded poor crops in the plain (my parents').

I wish you good luck and happy gardening!
Alexandra

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Assorted Brownsville, TX Mar 07, 2008

Ordered two gooseberry types that said zone 9... but where i live, we have cold fronts that goes down to 40 degrees, plenty of "chill hours"

There is a nursery near your town, pine island nursery. They are listed in the watch dog. they have a bush called rio grande cherry tree or something like that.

hmmm, also the wolf berry tree might make it in 10... I ordered two of them for zone 9.

chilean guave plant might produce where u live.

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bermudakiller Union Grove, AL Mar 13, 2008

Thanks Alexandra, I use Nourse farms myself and like their plants, had excellent luck with raspberries last year.Still haven't gotten them into the ground, poor things, but they bore up a storm in pots, going to add a couple of new varities and probably Ben Sareck (sp) current. this Spring.

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