Will this ripen before winter

I think the roots grow really slowly and it can get some wierd leaf fung disease. But once its established it should be hardier

 

I sometimes think people dont realise how cold it gets around here in winter, we often get minus 5c these days, even with global warming, I haven't managed to grow a decent Echium pininana for years now.
I grew them regularly about 10-15 yrs ago, winters are getting colder and wetter.

 

To be honest i was thinking of repotting it during winter. Are you suggesting thats not the best idea

 

I dont know, it does seem to go dormant in winter. If the roots are damaged it might be less frost resistant though, especially considering it is evergreen.

Personally I would do it when the plant is actively growing, but it isnt too dry.

On hardiness: We occasionally get down to -10c here, only about -5c this winter though and not for very long, so my ugnis did survive that. We had 6 small ones and 2 died, 1 in winter and one in spring.

My experience over my short life is winters have been getting warmer, we regularly had snow when I was a young boy, I remember huge amounts in 2012, but since maybe 2014 we havent had more than a few days of light snow a year. This year we didnt have any

 

@hi2u_uk I'd wait until growth starts next spring and then repot it into fresh ericaceous compost, carefully disentangling the chicken wire so you don't damage the plant.

 

If it's Ugni, I'm not sure it'd want ericacious compost?

 

My soil is quite acidic and it seemed to flourish. But my big plant was completely hit by that unexpected hard frost a few years ago and eventually died. A shame because it had been fruiting well. Fortunately it is easy from cuttings, so the next time it will go somewhere sheltered.

 

they do seem to like acidic soil but maybe not as extreme as for ericacious plants. i mixed half and half with regular soil

 

Im a bit confused about the replies

I thought it would be best to repot in winter as presumably its dormant at that time but as i said i think the fruit is still going to develop until winter which is why i asked how long it usually takes to ripen. I didnt realise it was best to repot when its growing in spring as i thought thats more likely to upset it

I didnt realise it needed ericaceous compost. It isnt in ericaceous compost just normal and its doubled in size. Should i give it ericaceous plant food now for the fruit to develop ?

 

generally speaking i repot and plant new plants in winter maybe ive been lucky as the only plant which continually fails was the cranberrys though they failed as soon as there was more than 4 days of sunshine

 

it may be fine to do so. who knows!

it doesnt need ericacious compost but may enjoy slightly acidic soil. i dont think anyone really knows how to cultivate this plant properly yet!

 

@Stephen Southwest you are quite right in that it doesn't need ericaceous compost just reasonable drainage.
My garden is slightly acidic and it grows and crops well in the ground here. I'll get a picture of mine later.
Ugni molinae was popular with the Victorians and apparently a favourite fruit of Queen Victoria.
It was grown in some volume in Cornwall, apparently along the Tamar Valley and regularly shipped by train to London.
Interestingly you can make an Ugni equivalent of rhubarb or sloe gin. I might give it a go.

 

I tend to repot in spring as growth starts, to avoid the newly repotted plant sitting in wet compost, especially if the pot size has been increased.
If you live in the drier east of the UK and have a sheltered spot you can keep the repotted plant in and mix in plenty of grit it may well be fine.

I tend to plant in autumn while the soil is warm and spring when the soil has warmed up.
The exception being bare root shrubs and hedging.

 

Here in Devon mine can have flowers, ripening fruit and ripe fruit on at the same time.
I've even picked ripe fruit at Christmas, but whatever time of year I tend to eat when picked.
One of the two fruits in your photo looks nearly ripe the other has a way to go. When it will be ripe depends on your local conditions and the autumn weather.

 

If Queen Victoria was eating it why has noone studied what it likes. I very rarely give it any plant food as I've never been able to understand what it needs . It was the smelliest plant by far in spring so I wonder if the reason its only fruiting now is because it hasn't had the right nutrients