Winter’s length nurtures the fruits of spring

It’s a slippery slope to spring planting.

For months, we’ve been deprived of greenery. Week after week, we’ve been locked in the deep freeze, adapting to saying nonsense like this: “It felt pretty warm today, got up to 2 degrees at my house.”

It has been so cold, in fact, that I haven’t finished my seed orders. Somehow, with night after night of below-zero temperatures and piles of snow growing up and over my head, I’ve lacked that burning need to finish my wish list for spring. I mean, spring isn’t happening at 14 degrees below zero.

Then I thumbed through a couple of catalogs of fruit trees and bushes (“Hardy to minus 40 degrees!”) and found myself thinking I could add a “few” things this year. Shortly thereafter, I heard the news a thaw was on the way for this week now past and suddenly I was teetering atop that slippery slope.

I shall attempt to temper my excesses, which worsen when we have difficult winters. Last year, winter was pretty tame and so was my garden plan; the biggest plot was to build a raised bed. I actually did that and planted all the regular spots without collapsing in the seedlings.

This year, I am envisioning, well, more.

Take the honeyberry. No, take two. It’s necessary for pollination.

This member of the honeysuckle family, Lonicera edulis var. kamtschatica, is a rarity among its kin because it produces edible fruit. What is amazing about the honeyberry is that the fruit, which resembles a cylindrical blueberry, ripens about two weeks before strawberries.

I planted strawberries last spring. I also planted high-bush blueberries. It is very easy to picture adding two honeyberry bushes to the mix, especially since it tastes like blueberries, too.

This Japanese-Russian native – picture Siberia – would grow about anywhere in Maine because it is hardy to 40 degrees below zero. The plant company One Green World has been touting honeyberry for years, adding it to its growing list of diverse fruits, many of which tolerate bitter cold.

The honeyberry, according to One Green World, has been gathered since ancient times and provides large quantities of fresh fruit. The plant sounds simple to grow: It needs full sun in the North, adapts to all but very wet soils and seems to have no problems with pests or diseases. The company says it often starts bearing the first year after planting.

There are several varieties of honeyberry, with One Green World offering the most at nine. ‘Berry Blue’ is the largest, maturing at 8 feet in height. Several other varieties average about 3 feet in height. With the exception of ‘Berry Blue,’ the bushes tend to be as wide as they are tall and can be pruned into shape every two or three years, with an annual pruning of dead or broken branches and weak shoots.

I can picture a short hedge of honeyberry at the top of my back yard. It’s a dry spot, but there’s no mention of that being a problem, only wet soils. Droughty conditions don’t develop there until August, and since honeyberry produces fruit in June, that means it might very well be perfect for this particular fruit. It certainly doesn’t sound like it needs to be pampered coming from Siberia, does it?

I’ve cast a longing eye on cherries this year, too. The problem with cherries is that they are trees, and trees need space.

Then I read about some of the cherries in One Green World’s catalog. The hardiness varies from about 20 degrees below zero to 40 degrees below zero. And you also need to decide whether you want a sweet cherry, like the kind you get fresh at the supermarket, or a “sour” cherry, which seems to be best for pies and jams. I haven’t been able to find out if the sour part really is or if it’s just sort of tart. I’ll probably have to grow one to know for sure.

I like ‘Compact Stella,’ a sweet cherry that tolerates temperatures down to about 20 degrees below zero. The company says it should only grow 8 to 10 feet tall, which is a fairly small tree. And it is self-pollinating, a huge bonus if you only have room for one.

I’m not sure about the cold hardiness of ‘Compact Stella’ for me because I know it gets below that mark at my house. Not often, it’s true, but I would have to resign myself to the inevitable damage if I planted one.

On the other hand, the pie cherry ‘North Star’ is as rugged as honeyberry. It is even smaller than ‘Compact Stella,’ growing only 6 to 8 feet high, and is self-pollinating. My only hesitation is about the taste: Is it too tart for fresh eating?

Then again, that’s plain silly. You always can add a spoonful of sugar, can’t you?

I’m not sure I can stop at adding just two fruit varieties this year, but I should. I really should. Really, really should.

Only I’ve been drooling over an I-must-be-pampered-year-round Brown Turkey fig. And there’s ‘Conference,’ a self-fertile European pear that One Green World says has “juicy, sweet, melting flesh.” And how about 30-degrees-below-zero, self-pollinating plums with deep red foliage and dark red fruit? I positively do want to go round the mulberry tree, maybe to get to my spotted Asian pear after a stop by my golden American persimmon. I want a pawpaw, please.

Egads, my feet are slipping out from under me.

Plant sources

One Green World, 28696 South Cramer Road, Molalla, OR 97038-8576; telephone 1-877-353-4028; www.onegreenworld.com.

Miller Nurseries, 5060 West Lake Road, Canandaigua, NY 14424-8904; telephone 1-800-836-9630; www.millernurseries.com.

Janine Pineo is a NEWS copy desk editor and systems editor. Her e-mail address is jpineo@bangordailynews.net.