This strange arrangement is me, at my tiny strip of an allotment, trying to train a Japanese Wineberry into a variety of forms, so that it can fit into smaller spaces.
Left to its own devices, it can be a monstrous spidery thing. Charming if interplanted with annuals, but a bit too space grabbing for a more petite front garden.
So here I was aiming for a Jean-Paul Gaultier-esque curvy cone shape,
And here I was experimenting with a sort of fan or star shape (and also wanted to illustrate the beauty of my urban plot!).
And this pic is of a lovely neighbour, David, training a Japanese Wineberry into a figure of 8. Lots of these ideas I’ve ‘borrowed’ from Blackmoor Nurseries from their small but inspirational stand at Hampton Court Flower Show this year, and I’m eager to see which permutation will give me the most fruit.
Ever since I tasted these delicious berries, I’ve been pondering how to squeeze them (and Blackberries for that matter), into a tight spot and looking forward to tasting the fruits of my labours come July. If you fancy a go, then it’s a good time now to order bare-rooted fruit canes. I think the figure of eight would even fit well into a large pot. Plants available from Blackmoor Nurseries.
Out of my shed 
I love blogging! I NEVER would have thought of doing this, yet it would so beautify a garden I call my “vine wall”
Thank you!! I’m definitely going to try it with some of my more unruly growers!
Hi Karen, Delighted you liked some of the ideas. I find the training side of fruit growing really rewarding and plan on lots more experiments in years to come. Do let me know how your ‘vine wall’ develops next year.
I’ve wrestled with my tayberry this autumn and it’s twisted around a metal support. It’s a brute and I wish I’d got the thornless variety but I would recommend it for its long fruiting season and gorgeous berries. Love the H&S sign on the wall. I could do with that above my tayberry, its thorns could do serious damage. 😉
Hi WW, Love the sound of your trained tayberry. Just ordering my apple trees for training in a pot. All this grappling with nature v. exciting.
I have never heard the term Japanese Wineberries, but learned a thing or two looking it up. We have red raspberries, blackberries, golden raspberries, and black caps. We love our raspberries. Good luck with yours.
Hi Judy, you got me researching too. Never heard of black caps, but sounds like they’re a black raspberry. Another member of the delicious rubus family, but not sure if they’re available to buy in the uk….? Anyone?
I have just moved my wineberry from my old allotment to the garden and I am hoping to train it along the back fence – time will tell though
Hi Helen, sounds like a good idea. Look forward to hearing how it grows. How big were the roots when you moved it? Have the monster plant to move, but fear its roots could be monstously heavy too.
Love wineberry! Great plant, looking so lovely now and the fruit are delicious. The only thing I’d say when training, is make sure you can cut all previous years growth off, without too much trouble. Its the new growth you need for the berries and lovely bright red stems in autumn. We’ve learned that hard way, so we went from Jean Paul Gaultier to the simple ‘hold up on the wall’ style…. Still beautiful none the less…
Good point Petra. The plants in the post above are all newish plants and this is their first year of growth. Will be interesting to juggle where to position new growth next summer as old the growth is fruiting……
[…] allotmenteer has employed the same strategy successfully with a hybrid blackberry and Naomi at Out of my Shed recently wrote about training her Japanese wineberry which has very similar sprawling growth. Her […]
I just have bog standard Autumn Bliss raspberries but they were a bit gangly last summer as my veg plot is so tiny (twice the width of your allotment); I’m wondering whether tying the branches onto wires might be worth a go?
Hi Caro, I’ve tied my autumn Bliss raspberries onto wires in the past as canes were flopping and the berries were nearing the ground. Seems like a good idea so that you get the best from your canes. Give them a monster mulch in March with plenty of well-rottted manure or garden compost for great fruit next year. V.best Naomi
[…] or train it to form any number of shapes that you want to experiment with. (If you have too many stems to train, cut away the weaker spindlier stems from the base of your plant.) […]