Failure to Berry

Robert Bowyer · February 2016

My 12 year (+) old large shrub produces masses of flowers, covered in bees, every early summer. The hundreds of berries start to form (green at this stage), turn brown and then fall off.

I have never seen more than a dozen or so remain on this now 5 metre tall plant and start to turn orange/red as it says they should on the tin!

Any one have any idea what is happening to cause this on what is supposed to be a trouble free plant? And is there anything I can do to remedy this?

Dovefromabove · July 2014

I'm wondering whether it's thirsty - it takes a lot of moisture to produce fruit.

A Fuchsia · February 2016

Not sure about the moisture part as my garden is dry but my large shrubby tree has always been full of berries (lived here 20 years, during which time it has grown well). Having said that, mine now seems to be dying! It takes the form of a very large (15' x 15'), spreading open shrub or tree. One branch is hopefully alive (waiting for spring flowers to prove it), but the rest died off last autumn and bark is already peeled. Really hope I can save it as the bees and birds love the flowers and berries, plus it screens me from neighbours! I've never fed the plant or improved the soil where it grows - maybe a good feed might help yours to set fruit. Or do you live where late frosts could have prevented the fruit setting?

Robert Bowyer · February 2016

Thanks for your interest in my stransvaesia berrying problems in (mostly) frost free but wet Cornwall.

I've fed, watered and sworn at it for several years, even threatened it with the bonfire!

Last year, after a lot of on-line research, I decided to experiment with gibbelleric acid. (Available at chip prices on e-bay)

This is the artificial plant hormone that is used on commercial grape vines inside glass houses etc. where there is a pollination problem due to scarcity of insects. The end results of a timely spraying at blossom time, in this case, are the sterile seed-less grapes we all love so much.

I decided that as far as I was concerned it didn't matter if the berries were sterile or not, providing they stayed on the plant and turned red, as advertised, so last spring I followed the instructions given on the web sit and sprayed.

Guess what?:- The plant has been full of red berries all year and is only now beginning to lose them to the gales we have been having! The only loss during the year seems to have been a few bunches pecked off and dropped by the local idiot blackbirds until it finally got into their heads that they didn't like them.

Result!!!

Failure to Berry

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