Small fruit in my yard

My yard is semi shady but some small fruits do well. My red  raspberry patch (Polana) has produced like crazy the past few years. My friend Chris, a fabulous gardener gave me my starts. This variety is one where you cut the canes right to the ground every fall after they are done bearing and they come up again in the spring from the roots. These are known as primocanes aka fall bearing. The other kind are floricanes aka summer bearing. She had tried many varieties of raspberries and this is the one which survived in our climate - zone 3, sometimes 4. The floricane types always died out in our harsh winters.


I have a Hinnomaki Red gooseberry bush which produced well the last couple of years but this year did not flower and the leaves are curled. I must find out what is wrong with it.


There are two currant varieties - red currant and golden currant. Both produced a lot of growth and beautiful leaves but no flowers this year.

Rhubarb of course, a gift from a friend, which does well in front of a downspout.

I planted black raspberry - McBlack - last year which is supposed to do well in zone 3. The initial planting died out over the winter but they are spreading into deeply shaded nooks around the yard this year. Aren't they supposed to be sun lovers? I hope they produce something.

Three mature crabapple trees make a nice deeply shaded area in the side yard. They bloom beautifully and produce tiny red crabapples. I made pickled crabapples one year and crabapple jelly one year. The deer love them and make a cozy sleeping area for themselves between the trees in the winter so I have been leaving the crabapples for the deer.


I tried grafting real apples to one of the crabapple trees but the grafts did not take. I want to try again but I keep putting it off until too late in the season.