GrowingHQ

Soft fruit

Soft fruit is cheaper, faster and almost all self-fertile, which makes it a different proposition from tree fruit rather than a smaller version of it. Height is the honest proxy: these are the fruit that stay within reach.

How this list was built

Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 12 of the 21 fruit qualify. It is published because it names a question people ask, returns enough plants to be useful, does not return most of the group it is about, and rests on fields that are actually populated. Lists that fail any of those are on the coverage page instead.

12 plants
PlantTypeLightSpacingMin. pot depthIn a container
BlackberryRubus fruticosusFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade250–450 cm40 cmmarginal
BlackcurrantRibes nigrumFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade150–180 cm40 cmworkable
BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumFruitSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade150 cm35 cmwell suited
GooseberryRibes uva-crispaFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade150 cm35 cmworkable
LoganberryRubus × loganobaccusFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade300 cm40–60 cmmarginal
MelonCucumis meloFruitDemandingFull sun90 cm35 cmworkable
RaspberryRubus idaeusFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade40–45 cm40 cmworkable
RedcurrantRibes rubrumFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade150 cm35 cmworkable
RhubarbRheum × hybridumFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade90–120 cm45 cmmarginal
StrawberryFragaria × ananassaFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade35–45 cm20 cmwell suited
TayberryRubus fruticosus × idaeusFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade300 cm40–60 cmmarginal
WhitecurrantRibes rubrumFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade150 cm35 cmworkable

This is one cut through the fruit, which compares every one of them on foliage, size and container suitability — including the ones this list rules out, and why.