Fruit that can be grown in the Shade?

[momo]

What kinds of fruit will grow well in a garden that is partly shady?

I live in a temperate climate, zone 14 in the western garden book. Most things grow well here so long as they can tolerate a bit of frost in the winter. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

[cynthia_h]

Luther Burbank seemed to "struggle along" pretty successfully in Zone 14!

But seriously, fruits which "require a winter chill" do well in Zone 14, per Sunset. If you can get them sufficient sunlight.

By "shady," is there any sunlight? 4 hours? 8 hours? etc.

The stone fruits here in northern California were incredible in 2008 because Jan/Feb/Mar had enough chill hours for them. Apples and quince were also terrific.

Can you give your fruit tree (or are you considering bushes, like blueberries?) a southern exposure for additional warmth? Or are you restricted to a mostly shady northern exposure?

And...welcome to The Helpful Gardener. And...Congratulations on already knowing your Sunset Zone!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[damethod]

I've heard that there is a fig tree for every climate.

[applestar]

I have some wild blackberries growing in the heavy shade along the NE side of the house that produced maybe 1/2 the crop as compared to the ones growing on the SW side. Wild strawberries (F. virginiana) also fruit in dappled shade under shrubs and trees as well. Saskatoon/June berries and Elderberries are understory shrubs and are shade tolerant. What else... oh, my blueberries get the early morning sun until about 8AM, then trees cast shade until around 2~3PM -- they're young bushes and only 1-1/2 bushes produced fruit last year, but we harvested about 3 pints (I'm in the process of moving them out of the shade this year though, cause we LOVE blueberries!). My mulberry tree is in shade of a big oak tree -- only gets sun from around 2~3PM and produce plenty, though it's main function is to keep the birds away from my other berries.

[momo]

I get dappled sun most of the day, there is a bit of roving full sun but not very much. There are several tall trees surrounding my property and they make it so that no matter what the exposure (the front yard has an eastern exposure and the back yard has a western exposure) there is always a bit of shade.

I have heard that kiwis tolerate dappled shade, and other 'forest' fruits do well in conditions like mine. I was just hoping someone had some first hand experience growing in part shade and could give me some suggestions.

Thanks for the help!

[hendi_alex]

Blueberries for sure, my blueberry hedge is growing under the canopy of a large oak tree. The hedge was started with just two plants but over the past twenty years they have connected and lengthened. These are some form of high bush variety, but thrive in the semi shade to heavy shade location. On the other hand, I have a few Northern short bush varieties that seem to prefer full sun and wouldn't produce well at all in their previous semi shade location. If you opt for some blueberries, be sure and ask about shade tolerance for that particular variety. IMO blueberries are one of the easiest to grow, almost maintenance free, highly rewarding fruits that can be grown in the home garden.

[applestar]

Thanks Alex! In that case, I guess I'll just move the short bush variety and leave the producing tall bush varieties alone. I was concerned about disturbing their roots. I ground-layered a couple of branches and they are still "green" -- well red -- I.e. alive. (Except that there's a rabbit in my yard "pruning" ALL my shrubs, including the blueberries, so that the layered branch is only about 3" tall now I have to put a fence around that) I'm planning to "speed" the hedging process along by layering a branch or two every year.

[momo]

This is a tentative list I have come up with of fruit that can be grown in the shade:

Blueberry, Hardy Kiwi, Currant, Elderberry, Gooseberry, Pawpaw, and Rhubarb (which I know is not technically a fruit, but it makes a yummy pie so it counts in my book )

Does anyone have any advice (I.e. 'don't try to grow that in the shade!') for me before I begin?

Thanks again!

[hendi_alex]

When I'm considering a certain type of plant, the next step for me is to choose a specific variety. Various mail order nurseries generally have pretty decent general information on the plant, to help in that decision. After deciding on a variety, I generally google the variety name followed by 'culture'. That usually gives a link to at least one site that tells me most everything needed regarding the requirements for the particular variety of interest.