juneberries

Is anyone growing these in zone 8b or up? What is the chill requirement for this plant? Any Texas growers?

I'm not growing juneberries, but curiosity led me on a search for information. I ran into some contradictions. One website said juneberries had chill hour requirements of 1,000 hours while another said 300 to 400 hours. They were the only sites I found that mentioned chill hour requirements. Have you had any success?

I found them for 3 dollar a plant online so I was thinking of trying them but I was worried about the chill requirement. I will do more research.

Thanks

Lee, Just a heads-up that juneberries grow relatively slowly compared to many other small fruits. Young inexpensive plants will take a long time before getting to fruiting size. I started with a 1 foot Saskatoon that took 7-8 years before bearing. (I probably didn't give it the right conditions starting off as well) Also, the named varieties are significantly better than the common ones, so be sure you are getting something worthwhile. BTW, I love the taste of these. I wish someone was breeding them up in size. A one inch fruit would be wonderful!

Coool. What is their drought tolerance?

Being a member of the rose family, they are subject to the same pests and diseases. Cedar-apple rust would be the one to worry about, but on the whole, the more I read about juneberries, the more I like them. This is a good link for general juneberry information. The article says they seem to require little watering, but watering would increase fruit production.
http://msuextension.org/publications/YardandGarden/MT198806AG.pdf
If this link doesn't work, try
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:ADkAcy6azGIJ:msuextension.org/publications/YardandGarden/MT198806AG.pdf+juneberries&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us

They are basically understory bushes, so I think you will find that Texas drought would be a significant issue for them. Mine drop leaves if they do not get enough water in late summer, which might be an issue for you in your climate but these are well worth trying..