I would like to put in some haskap plants this year. But I’m trying to figure out which cultivars to use. M
I am in the Pacific Northwest and have narrowed it down to the Japanese derived varieties from Dr. Maxine Thompson (i.e Taka and Tana) or the selections from the University of Saskatchewan (ie Boreal Beast).
I have scoured the Internet. Including this forum. I can find little information on flavor of each cultivar. Especially the Maxine Thompson ones.
I was hoping people here who have grown them could give me their impressions. Especially in regards to flavor
I have numerous varieties, but to be honest I don’t find huge differences in flavor. The main differences are size and timing. Some of the older varieties are small and bitter, but the Saskatchewan ones and the Thompson ones are all pretty good. But you don’t need a dozen varieties like I have.
I think I can get the three Boreals and three or four of the Thompson ones. I hope. They are all late blooming so I hope they pollinate each other. I know the Boreal series are designed to do just that. Not sure about Thompson’s. So little information about her plants is available
I recommend ordering from honeyberryusa. They have fantastic plants, also they should be able to help you with pollenate questions or more info on Thompson varieties. Bernice is very responsive and really nice to talk to via email.
I got my Aurora from them and the plant was extremely nice.
This is my first year my 3 bushes (indigo gem, tundra, Aurora) have given my berries, but they so far have been quite tart. But they probably need to hang a lot longer, could also be fact 1st year producing as well. I’ll probably pick some this weekend and make syrup or something.
I’ll hit them up for info. I think I will be able to get my plants from One Green World but that isn’t certain yet. It would be closer shipping from there
if you got aurora and a few of the boreals you would be good to go. they have the best tastes and production that ive seen online of all of them and from the ones i have. the rest really dont stand out or really get mentioned, telling me they arent very popular.
Aurora is partially self fruitful but slightly overlaps the earlier boreal ones for pollination. the later boreals slightly over laps strawberry sensation for pollination as well. maxie solo also is self pollinating and fruits about the same time as strawberry sensation. strawberry and maxi are pretty good but low producers. check out the pollination charts under the haskap explanation page on honeyberry USA. it explains what pollinates what more exactly.
I bought two unnamed ones from Dr.Thompson,when she was at an All About Fruit Show in Canby,OR.The thing that sold me,was a preserve,served on crackers.
Out of hand,they are somewhat sour,but I’m getting use to them.One is an elongated berry and the other more round,which to me,has better flavor.
I’d like to find out,how they compare to the Russian types,in flavor.
If you are talking about the Beauty / Blizzard / Beast combo then those are good choices. Blizzard is my favorite honeyberry.
There is also a cultivar named Borealis. It used to be sold as a companion to Aurora. I ripped my Borealis out so skip that one if you were considering it.
The Maxine Thompson are pure Japanese and need a warm, long growing season to ripen. I’ve had bad luck with these in the far north. They were developed in the Pacific Northwest so they should do good for you. @murky grows some and could opine on the flavor.
It’s not something I can just buy at the store so growing my own is probably the only way to try them. I figure I can make them into a jam if nothing else.
But they seem… exciting? It sounds like between Dr. Thompson and the University of Saskatchewan there are some really good cultivars out now.
I’ve got a Blizzard/Beast/Beauty and Strawberry Sensation. They’re on their fourth year. Third year they got 100% stripped by birds. The bushes are 4-4.5’ tall and 2.5-4’ wide. Height might be a bit more, but they try to put on all their new growth while I’m netting them.
They need to hang for around two weeks after turning blue. The insides of the berries if you slice one open will be purple rather than green and they’ll have a better berry flavor with some sweetness rather than just flat sour with little else going on. HBUSA has pollination charts/graphics and plant descriptions that seem fairly accurate based on the cultivars I’ve tried. The UoS Haskap website has lots of info about their own releases too.
Yes, Blizzard, Beauty and Beast. I should say that I may be able to get them. The nursery has a bunch of plugs they need to grow out but they didn’t know which ones. I would prefer not to mail order but I will if I have to.