Earlier this year I bought a Goji berry so was interested to recently come across an article highlighting the best of the increasing number of exotic and tempting berries that are now readily available. Just how much should we believe of the sales blurb relating to ease of growth, quality and quantity of fruit and, of course, greatness of taste? Well according to ‘Gardening Which?’ not a lot. The only two they really recommend are cranberries and blueberries. As I am particularly interested in what does well when grown in a container I will probably try these next year. The cranberry used for the trial by the magazine is ‘Pilgrim’. This was found to produce quantities of attractive flowers and fruit. It needs to be planted in full or light shade in free-draining acid soil or in ericaceous compost and it is recommended the plants are watered with rainwater if you live in a hard water area. The cropping period is late September-October.

There are many varieties of blueberry easily available. The one used for the trial was ‘Bluecrop’ and did well grown in a pot, bearing lots of fruit. It too prefers to be planted in full sun or light shade in free-draining acid soil or ericaceous compost. Water with rainwater if tap water is hard. It has been found that growing more than one variety improves pollination and boosts yields. The cropping period is July-August. Useful if you are growing cranberries as well as these should start as the blueberries finish. My Goji berry was well down the list being described as ‘a waste of space’. I did find out for myself that it is a garden thug and seemed happy to take on everything and anything in its path. I dug it up and replanted it in a large container with canes to climb up. At first, as it isn’t a climbing plant, it didn’t seem very happy but now seems to have accepted its new home – but will it ever bear fruit? I just don’t know, time will tell.

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