TOPIC: Planting Red Berries

My plants berries have been turing red for the last couple of weeks and more are turning red everyday. The longer the berry sits on the plant, the darker red they seem to get... I guess my question is when do you guys plant your berries and how do you plant them? What is your best planting depth for non-stratified?

I plant them as soon as they turn bright red. I plant about 3/4 to an inch deep, and have had pretty good results at this depth.

5prong wrote:

I plant them as soon as they turn bright red. I plant about 3/4 to an inch deep, and have had pretty good results at this depth.

5prong,

I'd say that's about right.
Most of my berries on plants that grew from ordered seed stock are pretty much over with.
The native plants on the other hand are only about 30% at turning red.
It looks as though Sept 1st. will be just about right for the majority of berries on the wild plants.

rootman

Thanks guys! That is what I have been doing. Just didn't know of any other tricks or methods

Rootman,
you touch upon an interesting subject. My purchased ginseng had very poor seed production compared to my native plants and have also already finished seeding for the year. I was amazed to see such hardy seed production from the wild plants even 2 prongs had nice seed heads which are just now turning red as well. on the other hand my wild-simulated ginseng has become a dissappointment due to lack of seed production and it always finishes up a month before the wild. I am less than happy with cultivated seed and am in the process of only propagating wild seed on my property. Anyone considering cultivated seed should heed this warning. i had 12 year old 4 prongs from cultivated seed producing 2 or 3 seed, thousands of dollars wasted on that crap.

Kduce,

Your experience and sentiments about seed production this year are echoing mine. I mentioned before that I only got about 5% germination on my Wild Simulated plants, but like you, my Wild Kentucky and Wild Tennessee plants bloomed later and seemed to pollinate more successfully than bought plants. I have a number of nice 4 prong plants that did not bear a single seed but the Wild Tennessee plants have a fair crop on them. I have been looking recently for wild Elderberries and I have noticed that they suffered the same problem at lower altitudes. Yesterday when I was at about 4000ft. elevation where the plants bloomed later I saw some that had done very well. The bloom time and the heavy rains really did some damage. I started last year changing my focus toward wild plants. The wild ones I have now have not even started turning so it will be just about the first week of September for them to get ripe here.
Hugh

K duece and Hugh,

I've had a lot of disappointments on ordered seed, especially looking back now, 20 years later and somewhere around $4000 invested. Of course with 20 20 hindsight I would actually have been better off starting slowly with the wild native plants and building from there.

Oh well

rootman

I have planted around 40 seeds from my native and have not planted any from my wild sim yet

BigRoots wrote:

Thanks guys! That is what I have been doing. Just didn't know of any other tricks or methods

The only other thing I would add is if you are planting wild berries, try and find some of that soft black loamy soil close by the plants you got the seed from. They always grow bigger in that stuff vs hard packed soil. Also watch that there is not to much sunlight and dry. I like areas that are moist but well drained on hillsides where there is a crevasse where water runs down the hill.

I planted over 100 today. All in as loamy a soil I could find. All the berries are ripe here in central Vermont. Just some of the real young plants have green berries. I pay a lot of attention to \"where\" I plant them!

I've heard the same thing from an experienced central IN. grower. Says the WI cultivated seed can't take the heat and humidity we have from IN. south. Thus, I'm looking for KY, IN, TN, W.V. VA, OH, IL type wild seed or rootlets. Anyone help ?