Japanese Wineberry
Japanese Wineberry is a climbing shrub that produces large trusses of unbelievably sweet orange red to dark red berries of delicious flavour. Easy to grow. A good subject to grow against a fence. Though Japanese Wineberry is uncommon it is no more difficult to grow than a raspberry, which it is closely related.
Japanese Wineberry is native to Korea and China as well as Japan, this vigorous deciduous shrub grows to 2.5m or 3m tall. Japanese Wineberries produce orange to red bristles thick as down on its arching stems and protective calyces. These stems show up well in Winter, especially when sunlight strikes them. Just like the raspberry it is biennial, that is, the canes grow one year and fruit the next.
The Japanese Wineberry has emerald to green leaves that are up to 18cm long with white felted undersides, and are composed of three, coarsely toothed, rounded, ovate or heart-shaped leaflets.
In early summer the small, star-like, whitish to pink, self fertile flowers emerge shyly, encased in a calyx - bristly armour made up of five long, triangular bracts. Small, glistening, conical, orange-red fruit follow in late July - early August. These remain almost surrounded by the calyx until they are ripe.
You can eat them straight off the canes or cook them in the same way as raspberries. Plant the Japanese wineberry in adequately drained but fertile soil, preferably in a sheltered place. You will get the best fruit against a sunny wall.
You can tie the canes along wires, cutting out those that have fruited and tying in the replacements. Because the stems are vigorous you can pinch them back in Spring to encourage branching.
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