Wojtek has an awful growing habit. Branches go everywhere. While Balalaika is a low growing, prettier bush.
I also have ripe berries on VOSTORG, JUGANA and SINIJ UTES, but these are not as tasty. OK, but quite sour. I am going to give them another year, but they may not be keepers.
I also have young bushes of STRAWBERRY SENSATION, AURORA, GIANTS HEART and BLUE BANANA, but they are not producing much yet.
Nice to see a dedicated thread for these. My Wojtek did the same thing this year, very late compared to last season. I think the cold May set everything back by a good two weeks. Balalaika has been the standout for flavour in mine too, that wild strawberry note is something else. Interested to hear what other varieties people are growing, I’ve been thinking about adding a couple more but the options are a bit overwhelming.
(I like Polish people for the record, generally smart and in good shape, but some of the jokes still apply)
Balaklaika looks wonderful! I prefer the rounder shape with less skin, I need to get those!
What’s their growing habit? You think you’ll be able to graft onto them if you don’t decide to keep them, or do they have too many stems and suckers?
VOSTORG and SINIJ UTES look like something in between W and B. And the berries on them look very nice. They are firm and smooth. The taste is not horrible, just not as good.
My JUGANA looks almost worse than WOJTEK. Branches go everywhere, and the berries are often deformed.
Grafting is not an option. I’ll try to take cuttings from the good ones, root those, and then replace the bad ones eventually.
I’ve given up on blueberries. I hope to try haskaps. But they seem kinds hard to get. Not mainstream with nurseries. What are 2 or 3 varieties you recommend for the beginner?
ive been seeing them actually even at home depot, though they only carry one variety, but hey its coming main stream.
Id check out honeyberryusa, just ordered a few. also a friend of mine suggested this nursery that someone they know runs, but havent tried it.
pricing seems reasonable and i bet theyd answer your questions on if you only want 3. they got what are known to me to be good varieties.
I just bought some extra ones since my aurora and tundra didnt have good fruit set, Maybe ones mislabled, who knows. I added boreal blizzard, honeybee, indigo gem, and blue banana.
So far, Balalaika is my favorite, but it is an older bush (4-5 years old). And it has really improved year after year, both in size of berries, and in flavor. In a positive way.
I also have Aurora, Giants Heart, Blue Banana and Strawberry Sensation, which I imagine should be more available to you. The seller seemed to be more in favor of these varieties, and was no longer selling a lot of the russian/polish varieties.
These bushes are only in their second year in my garden, and they are so far producing small amounts of small berries. So it would not be fair of me to judge them right now.
I do see alot of people recommending Aurora. So that would be a good suggestion. And then toss in a couple of other varieties that bloom at the same time, for pollination.
I have a few blueberry bushes, but they are harder to grow. Even in my acidic soil! And I prefer the flavor of the haskaps.
i use Honeyberry USA. aurora, indigo gem/ treat and the boreal series have all produced well and taste great. i have strawberry sensation, maxie solo and honeybee but they arent nearly as productive as the others mentioned.
My Maxie produces way more than any of my other varieties. This year the Borealis had the best flavor. Not a lot of difference between most varieties taste wise.
Planted Aurora and Indigo Gem two years ago. Aurora took a full year to do anything useful but this spring it was noticeably heavier. Indigo Gem fruited earlier and more reliably from the start, smaller berries though. For a beginner I’d say those two plus one from the Boreal series would give you a decent spread of ripening times and good pollination coverage.
The name honey berry is some pretty slick marketing. We have several varieties and for us they are all pretty much straight tart…more like a cranberry than a blueberry. I will say that the combination of size and the rat shit shaped berries makes them a better fit for pancakes than cultivated blueberries…they don’t stick out and burn as bad.
yeah theres nothing honey flavored about them other than they are a member of the honeysuckle family. i like them strait but i also eat blackcurrant and cranberry strait up. they do really shine in baking. some people mix them with other sweeter berries.
Or maybe I’ve just eaten only black currants in Eastern Europe and Russia, and off of one nut-grower’s bushes in the US and he has lots of good stuff, maybe it’s a variety problem for you.
The earliness is honestly the main reason I keep mine around. By the time anything else is even close to ripe I’ve already had a couple weeks of picking. Flavour wise they’re not terrible but yeah, calling them honeyberries sets people up for disappointment. More like a tart blueberry crossed with something vaguely floral. Best in jam or mixed into yogurt where the tartness actually works in their favour.
