What's the verdict on Honeyberries...are they tasty?

More like taste like poison! Seriously, probably the only thing besides spoiled milk that I spat out.

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Drew,
I planted Solo, Maxie, and Sugar Mt. Blue all from Honeyberry, U.S.A. last year, so maybe I will have a comparison report in a year or two. The few I tasted of Aurora were pretty good. A blue belle or berry blue (not sure which was which) was disagreeable–very astringent. I hope to transplant some of them to a different location to see if they do better there.

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I like tart, but astringent stuff I too cannot handle. I heard you say that, thanks for that report!

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I don’t think I’d be a good resource for rooting advice. I’ve only tried the one time to root cuttings and only have the one plant out of three or four cuttings.

I think I direct potted the dormant wood though.

I have a feeling that you’d have a stronger plant that would grow faster with an air layer.

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Very interesting indeed. Sounds like you have a good sample size and are able to make a true opinion of them.

Well that’s the thing, Dave, no, I do need to try more. I should have said a potential to be better than blackberries even blueberries. I did taste a depth of flavor. I like red currants, but they really have no depth of flavor, it’s there, flat, one taste. What I mean by depth is the flavor has a first flavor, maybe a 2nd, then a finish, like a fine wine. An example I’ll give is the pineberry, or white strawberries. At first you get a citric pineapple taste that finishes with a traditional strawberry flavor. So it has depth, or is complex, rich Even jam keeps this taste. Honeyberries appear to be like that to me, Sweet, blueberry, raspberry flavors,and a tart finish. I tasted potential totally. But sometimes first impressions are wrong.

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I’ve had Honeyberries for three seasons now and really haven’t made up my mind yet. Last year I put up some bird netting and finally got a few berries for ME! I probably picked them a little early but as I’m not at my orchard all the time so I have to take what I can get. I have Blue Bird, Berry Blue and Blue Moon. Maybe this year they will come on strong and give me enough to try Jams, Fresh etc. I put some in flap jacks and they were pretty tart. As my bushes get a little bigger I hope they produce larger quantities.

Agree. They look like elongated blueberries but the ones I’ve tried don’t taste like blueberries.

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On the Honeyberry USA site they list the new Boreal Beauty haskap at 16.9 brix. I already have it on order, so am excited about it now.

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I know the early honeyberry cultivars were pretty bad, from many reports I have seen. I never tasted them.
It reminds me of the first tomatoes, small, green. Not very good. Even thought poisonous for a minute. Cultivation is what made them what they are today. I think we have a ways to go with honeyberries. About 100 cultivars in 10 years isn’t bad though! A good start at least.

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Search “haskap” also, thats what they are called in canada often. http://lahavenaturalfarms.com/varieties/

Id recommend happy giant and also aurora based upon reviews I have read…

http://www.agriforestbiotech.com/honeyberries

Ive got my Beauty and Blizzard from them last fall, excited about these but variety descriptions are often exaggerated IMO. Borealis from U of S was very disappointing and I have dug mine out now. Currently I have these varieties, tho many of them are very small and wont produce for a year or two.
Honeyberry: Indigo Gem, Beauty, Blizzard, Honey Bee,
Solo, Maxine, Happy Giant, Blue Moose, Aurora
I have had luck propagating them using mid summer cuttings, after they have been harvested, in a bubble cloner, similar to mist/fog but stems are submerged.

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I’ve got them in shady spots, Kelby!

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@speedster1

I grew two varieties of goji last year. Sweet Lifeberry and Crimson Star. After tasting both… Sweet Lifeberry I spit out, and the other was quite pleasant. I found them to be pretty good by the end of the season. Turns out that there are two different species of Goji: Lycium Barbarum & Lycium Chinense.

I made a video on the topic actually:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7VRKZYzPfM&t=1s

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I have tried honeyberries yet, but I just purchased a few this year for here in zone 7, just little south of you to try out. I’m right on the fringe, so we’ll see how they do. I am planning on mostly getting the Japanese varieties as they are said to be better fit for warmer climates than the Russians. Last fall I purchased tundra, borealis, solo and max and for this spring I am getting honey bunch, sugar pie and a few from berries unlimited that are supposed to be really good: honey gin, blue banana, giant’s heart and blue treasure. These varieties I picked are supposed to be at least or if not sweeter than the newer varieties out of university of saskatchewan, at least according to this site that recommends a lot of the berries unlimited varieties.

I’m also planning on getting the Boreal beauty, beast and blizzard and maybe aurora in a year or two as well. I’ll report back with how they are doing.

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In the last year about 50 new cultivars appeared, many from 10 year trials. I never seen so many breeders working on one plant. Somebody is seeing potential here.

Patrick, Thanks for the site. Lots of good information there.

Just got my free replacement Blue Moose from Berries Unlimited yesterday. Couldnt resist grabbing a couple more varieties with free shipping. These are much nicer than the plants sent to me last fall. Added Blue Banana (supposed to be very sweet) and Blue Jewel (recommended by their office manager).


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Yes, they look nice! And good info too! I better write those cultivars down!
I just added one Brady sent me. a Japanese type that was an unnamed cultivar from Dr. Maxine Thompson.

Maybe we can pool resources in the future and compare/trade cultivars.
I have never seen so many cultivars of any plant being developed so fast.

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Ive read that U of S has some unnamed varieties that are delicious with large berries but they werent released because they wont fit into a commercial market. Either the plant form isnt correct for machine harvesting, or they dont have a dry scar so they wont keep, etc. Really unfortunate if its true.

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