Best Fruits to Grow in Zone 10B? BERRIES

[miagardener]

What are the best berries and grapes to grow in zone 10b? Thanks!

[lorax]

I'd be looking at Blackberries and Raspberries (and their relatives, like Boysenberry and Loganberry), lowbush Blueberries, Jostaberries, Kiwi (I like 'Issai'), and Akebia quinata, myself. I know they'll all do zone 2a, as well as zone 13, so they should work fine for you. I'd also (of course) plant everbearing Strawberries. If you want something really unique in berries, look for species Fuchsias, particularly F. boliviana - beautiful flowers followed by tasty grape-like fruit. I'd also look into the Ground Cherries, particularly P. peruviana (Uvilla), which is particularly suited to your conditions. Everything else in fruit that I'd reccomend are too large to be considered "berries" although the plants stay fairly compact.

Grapes proper may not do so well for you - you don't have enough chill hours for them to be happy about your climate.

[miagardener]

Thank you for the excellent, informative reply.

Could grapes do well if planted in late fall?

I am going to start doing some research on the berries you listed for me now.

Are there any other non-berry fruits that would do well here (other than fruit trees)?

[lorax]

For the grapes, it's worth a shot. Try 'Concorde' - they're fairly adaptable.

Fruit that isn't trees that would work well for you includes Poma Rosa, Naranjilla, Babaco, Papaya, and (technically, at least) Banana.