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Fruit of the month -
Japanese wineberries

Japanese wineberries

Project of the Month
Closely related to the raspberry, the wineberry has leaves of a similar shape

There are a number of fruits that make attractive garden plants as well as being very tasty and one of these is the Japanese wineberry. Closely related to the raspberry, the wineberry has leaves of a similar shape, but they are broader and rounder and the stems are covered with golden brown bristles, sharp enough, but nowhere near as painful as raspberries.

The orange-red raspberry-like fruit is small, but very tasty and produced in large numbers once plants are established.

Plants are not fussy about growing conditions and will thrive in semi-shade or full sun, however, like raspberries they are quite thirsty and prefer a deep soil rich in organic matter. This should be dug in generously when planting, but also used to mulch around the roots in the spring and topped up in the summer, too.

Pruning is similar to raspberries; all the old fruited canes are cut out to ground level in the winter, leaving the young canes to fruit the following year. Also like raspberries they grow well on wires, however, wineberries are even more vigorous and need lots of space. A well established plant will easily reach 2.1m (7ft) high and 3m (10ft) across. This does however, make them ideal for covering a wall or forming a screen.

Save £9 on Japanese wineberries – see page 82.


For more advice, see this month's issue, available to buy online!