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)!

I'm located in South Warwickshire and the garden faces East.

Thanks in advance.

--
Chris H,
He's predictable, but that's to be expected.
Please remove the numbers to reply

HI Chris

Chris H wrote:
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)!

I'm located in South Warwickshire and the garden faces East.

Thanks in advance.


There was a feature on Irish TV the other day about the Irish Cranberry
cultivators. Apparently they like lots of moisture (which make them very
suited to our climate!) - they're being grown on peat bogs - so they
like it damp and acidic....

I got them impression that they're pretty hardy (they were being grown
'up country' - somewhere in the middle of Ireland, if I recall) - and
they're related to heathers, which are pretty tough...

So - a nice soggy spot would seem to be appropriate !

Regards
Adrian - West Cork, Ireland

"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