Rubus phoenicolasius
| Rubus phoenicolasius | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 10' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Rubus phoenicolasius (common name: japanese wineberry)
Propagation: Seed - requires stratification, is best sown in early autumn in a cold frame. Sow stored seed as early as possible in the year in a cold frame and stratify for a month at 3°c if sowing later than February. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring of the following year.
Tip layering in July. Plant out in autumn.
Division in early spring.
Cultivation: Easily grown in a good well-drained loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[1][2][3], preferring light shade[4]. Plants are not too happy when grown in windy situations[K].
Hardy to about -18°c[4]. Some damage may be caused at this temperature but plants usually recover well[4].
A very ornamental plant, its red stems adding colour to the winter garden[1], it is sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit[1][5]. There is at least one named variety, 'Bella di Tokyo' has small tasty red fruits[6].
This species is a raspberry with biennial stems, it produces a number of new stems each year from the perennial rootstock, these stems fruit in their second year and then die[3].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[3].
Range: E. Asia - N. China, Japan, Korea. Occasionally naturalized in Britain[7].
Habitat: Waste places and clearings in lowland and mountains all over Japan[8]. Roadsides and montane valleys at low to medium elevations in China[9].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[1][10][11][12]. Sweet and juicy[2], A raspberry-type fruit, it is smaller than a raspberry, contains rather a lot of seeds and is not quite such a flavourful fruit, but it makes very nice eating all the same[K]. After flowering, the fruit is enclosed in its calyx until just before it is ripe, this prevents maggots etc getting into the fruit[K]. The fruit is about 20mm in diameter[3].
Usage: A purple to dull blue dye is obtained from the fruit[13].
Pollinators: Insects
Notes: Grow it in the sunnier parts of the woodland garden.
We can supply in the spring.
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Davis, Brian. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking, 1990.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Nicholson, Barbara and Stephen Harrison. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press, 1975.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.