"Chris H" writes:

I was given three cranberry plants for Christmas. Being a complete beginner,
I'm not sure when to plant them out and in what. I have two large planters
filled with compost and some rotted down manure and an area I've dug in our
clay soil. Is either suitable and is it OK to plant them out now with the
current frosts. I assume they'll spread out and will need plenty of water.
Would I need to invest in a few cloches? So many questions, but I'm really
keen to make these grow successfully (since they were a gift)!

Mine grow in pots of peaty compost that sit in a tray that fills with
rain water and gets topped up in dry weather. They're bog plants so
acidic conditions and plenty of water. Commercial harvesting is
apparently done by flooding the fields and straining the fruit from
the outflow, they float. This is their third winter and I actually got
enough fruit off them to make sauce this year.

Anthony