Pointilla possibilities - will my dotberry fruit?

The question is, Will I get any fruit?  I got a handful last year. Literally.

 

No, not my handful (or my hand). I've mislaid the picture I took and these are the yellow Fortunella.

What are they? Dotberries. From the Elaeagnus umbellata family, they're sold by Lubera as Pointilla. Last year they very nicely sent me two: Pointilla Sweet and Sour, tasting as described and a cheery red, and Pointilla Fortunella, golden and, I think, less tangy than the former. I can't say for sure, as only Sweet and Sour proffered a harvest. Still, it was only their first year.

 

OK, not exactly burdened with fruit, but you can see the red berries do have a lovely sort of translucency once they're ripe, especially in contrast with the silvery quality of the leaves.

Even without fruit, these have merit. Pointillas are delicate-looking, airy creatures. The leaves have a simple shape but are silvery underneath. When they turn in the breeze they reward you with a lovely silver flash that quite animates the flower bed.  Don't grow them for the flowers, though; they're tiny.

 

Pointilla Fortunella, a dotberry warming itself here against the west-facing fence.

But what of the fruit? Well, I feared it was my fault, last year's paucity of harvest. I've planted them on opposite sides of the garden, about 20 feet apart, and you need two, as they're not self-fertile. Were they too far apart? At the Garden Press Event in February, Lubera's Daniel Labhart reassured me that they should be fine.

I also feared they were in incompatible micro-climates. You'd think I'd have noticed before, but the Pointillas have writ large the difference in the two sides of the garden. Fortunella stands against a west-facing fence and receives quite a degree of winter sun, when it's available (which, of course, it was this year). It started blooming in late January. Sweet and Sour, at the same latitude but against the east-facing fence, gets sun in the morning in winter, but loses it as the sun moves behind next door's roof before midday. That has only just started flowering. Honestly. The first flowers appeared in the middle of April.

 

Ah, that's more like it. Not mine, of course, but a somewhat larger and more mature specimen, I'm guessing.

Still, when I expressed concern at Fortunella's early appearance, Daniel was unconcerned. I think he was right. Fortunella does still carry flowers, so perhaps all is not lost.

I suspect that dotberries tend to assume an innocent air of fruitlessness. Mandy Watson of blog Mandy Can You Dig It was pleasantly surprised by a dotberry harvest after she'd thought all the flowers had dropped off. So, I'm hoping for more this year and I'll fill you in on what happens. The few I had were pleasantly tangy, which promises a great jam. Lubera also recommend drying them (probably in the oven, rather than the sun, as they ripen around October) to eat as snacks, or making a fruit leather. I'm looking forward to just cooking them to have with icecream. Apparently they have more lycopene than tomatoes, so I foresee their day in the sun as a superfruit.

Are you growing Pointillas? If you are or have tried the fruit, do comment below to let us know what you think.

Comments

[Emma Cooper]

I looked at those, and they're interesting, but I managed not to indulge last year as I didn't have anywhere to put them! Sadly the same is true this year, but I will be interested to see how you get on. Don't forget that perennials take a couple of years to get settled, and you should expect a proper harvest next year :)

[Helen]

Hi, Emma. Yes, thank you, I've learned my lesson on expecting too much (or anything, really!)too soon. Did you see the one at the Garden Press Event, grown in a smallish pot? It was sort of a gimmick and probably not to be recommended for anyone doesn't want to create work, but it did show that it's possible to grow a tall, slender specimen in a small space. I'll post later in the year about how mine get on.

[Emma Cooper]

I didn't get to the Garden Press Event in the end, so I'll look forward to seeing your posts later :) I think the seed & plant companies lead us to expect instant results, but gardening doesn't always lend itself to them! Asparagus being the exception, of course - everyone knows it's worth waiting for. (Just planted mine :)