Saskatoons

[manicscousers]

Anyone grow these, there's a man in scotland grows them very successfully and they're less fussy than blueberries, better cropping, look good but I'd rather ask on here, first before I buy any  ;D

[manicscousers]

[sheddie]

Hi,

sorry, I don't know anything about them, other than that they seem to sell them as 'Juneberry' here, but you probably already knew that!

DT Brown are selling them for £12.95 - I've been tempted myself, but trying to resist....

http://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/seeds-plants-gardening/61709/juneberry-smoky-plant

sheddie

[manicscousers]

This bloke sells 2 yr old plants, 2 for 10.00
www.johnstoa.co.uk
you have to look around to find them  :)
found it
http://www.johnstoa.co.uk/saskatoon.htm

[sheddie]

well thats more like it for price..the £12.95 tag was putting me off, but I hadn't seen them anywhere else - even the other 'big' seed catalogues don't seem to have thought of them yet.

Mind, some of the other plot holders will think I'm a bit fancy...I've already got a Jostaberry, Loganberry, Tayberry and a Goji Berry...they thought my red gooseberry was strange enough! ha ha!

;D

[sheddie]

Wah man - I see he's asking for payment by cheque - in this day and age! - can he not just stick them on Ebay and let us pay with Paypal...I have limited patience! - can't be doing with waiting for cheques to clear etc ::)

sheddie

[manicscousers]

Didn't notice the cheque payment  ::)
You're not on your own with the weird fruit, I love it  ;D

[Digeroo]

bloke sells 2 yr old plants, 2 for 10.00

Are you sure this is the price, I read it that this is just the p&P and the actual plant is £6 or £8 depending on the age on top.

[manicscousers]

The two year old bare root plants will be priced at £8 each plus post and packing of £6 for 1 bush, £10 for 2 bushes and £14 for 3 bushes, and £20 for six plants.

The one year old bare root plants will be £6 each with post and packing of £5 for one bush, £8 for two bushes and £10 for three bushes, and £14 for six plants
see what you mean, that's the p&p, think I had a senior moment  ;D

[tai haku]

The two year old bare root plants will be priced at £8 each plus post and packing of £6 for 1 bush, £10 for 2 bushes and £14 for 3 bushes, and £20 for six plants.

The one year old bare root plants will be £6 each with post and packing of £5 for one bush, £8 for two bushes and £10 for three bushes, and £14 for six plants
see what you mean, that's the p&p, think I had a senior moment  ;D

you can get bog standard amelanchier plants for £1.20 - £1.50 ish a piece if you go to a hedging supplier. We have a few but I've only ever got very few berries as the birds hit them before they get close to ripe. The ones I did have were ok but I'm not a huge berry fan so perhaps not the best person to ask.

[Digeroo]

I am not sure they are bog standard amelanchier,  they come in various types.  We had a neighbour with one, it had lovely flowers in the spring.

I wonder if the Saskatoon produces more than a Goji?  It will not have to do much.

[sheddie]

I wonder if the Saskatoon produces more than a Goji?  It will not have to do much.

Is the goji berry really that bad?...mine just arrived a couple of days ago, I was looking forward to some bumper crops!

oh no!...

::)
sheddie

[Digeroo]

I managed about 30 from one Goji bush which was sown as seed about 3 years ago from Goji berries bought in Sainsburies.  That it the good news the rest of the plants produced nothing.  There have been mentions on other threads and no one as far as I can remember has had much success with them.  I hope very much to be contradicted.

I also have one I bought from Aldi which is totally different, the leaves are a totally different size and shape.  It also does not have thorns.

[sheddie]

bum!...

But, the one I have also has no thorns, so hopefully we might be onto a winner - got to keep positive!!

Mine is just a one year old plant, so 'll have a while to wait anyhow

sheddie

[Digeroo]

Sorry but the best producer is the thorniest one.

[tai haku]

I am not sure they are bog standard amelanchier,  they come in various types.  We had a neighbour with one, it had lovely flowers in the spring.

True; sorry I should've been clearer. The names saskatoon and juneberry do seem to get used across the genus but what I called "bog-standard amelanchier" is typically A. lamarckii which is a species or hybrid of unknown origin . It does produce good berries but the "true" saskatoon seems to be A. alnifolia which raises two points:
1) Is alnifolia substantially better than lamarckii to justify tracking one down and paying extra?
2) Are the "saskatoon" plants available fo sale in the UK the variety one would want or rebadged hedging?
3) Are the saskatoons being grown across the pond selected varieties and if so can we get the improved version not just the species (looks like the DT Brown plant passes tests 2 and 3  :D)?

Wiki has a bit on the nutrition aspect of these bad boys:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier_alnifolia

[realfood]

Varieties of Saskatoon berry.
Amelanchier alnifolia
There are several named varieties of Saskatoon, such as Smoky, or Thiessen, which have been selected for their fruiting qualities, but these do not seem to be available as named varieties in the UK at this time.  However, there are plants available in the UK that are raised from seed and they will have some variations.

For further information see
http://www.growyourown.info/page166.html

[manicscousers]

They are the ones he is selling  :)

[Vinlander]

I have a named & grafted saskatoon - name escapes me at present, neither of those above - but it is certainly productive and good/tasty (sort of somewhere between an apple and a plum). This may sound weird - so I'm not surprised people say blueberry - on a good day it tastes of maybe blueberry with about 25% apple.

It is a small tree - so don't be surprised the price is between a berry and a fruit tree - though I wouldn't pay that much for a seedling...

Anyway, the main thing is that apart from a few early berries the bulk will never ripen unless you net them - the pigeons especially - they can (and have on occasion) stripped mine clean in one morning.

Cheers.

[Jeannine]

Hi, I have  few catalogues in front of me right now ..Saskatoon info from her is..

Most popular one is Northline,grows to 6ft,excepionally large berries but there is no comparison to blueberries..however


Haskap berries are compared to blueberries, Borealis and Tundra fave ones, they are apparently hardier, and are not as fussy regarding soil..actually an edible honeysuckle so also known as Honeyberries..maybe this is one to look for.


And I think I have seen seeds offered soemwhere..will look into it.

XX Jeannine

Well what do you know

                           http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/about.html

                            http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/fruit/bld01s01.html

[manicscousers]

Thank you for that, Jeannine, interesting reading  :)