My favorite haskap is Aurora; large upright bush, very large berries, heavy producer. I also like thundra; branchy structure, not as fast a grower, not as heavy cropper but more open growth so easy to harvest. I don’t care for Borealis; too darn bushy, I can’t even find the berries there. The birds can’t find the berries there and they try more than I do.
With that said how are Indigo Gem and Berry Blue? I reproduced both this year and now I’m trying to determine which plant will get the better producing spot and which one is going to be on the back as a specimen…
About two weeks ago there was a free posting my wife saw on FB marketplace- there was a lady in Anchorage giving away free honeyberry plants- just come and dig them out! She said she thought it was tundra and berry blue, but they were from 10 years ago and she can’t remember.
We arrived, and the plant that was allegedly berry blue was as tall as the house- it went all the way up to the roof. It had to be at least 10 feet tall. It was absolutely massive. The main trunk was probably 5 inches thick. I poked around for about 2 minutes with my little shovel and gave up. You would need a tractor, some chains, and a chainsaw to get that thing moved. The berries were smaller than expected (tiny), and I wasn’t blown away by the taste either.
This could have been a different honeyberry. Also, with proper pruning and care, you may get larger berries. I have seen pictures of berry blue fruit and it is supposed to be normal sized. However, when readying about berry blue, it can apparently get quite large.
When they get old if you want them productive they need pruning. My Aurora is on its third year here, came as a nursery bush so probably 5 years old. It is about 5 feet tall and I harvested enough for a hair over 3 quarts of preserves. In the spring I take a lot of the old wood out which keeps it pushing new growth. When they get as out of hand as the one you describe your best bet is to cure it at ground level and let it start fresh.
I have small extras of Aurora, indigo gem and tundra. Are you still looking?
I’m obsessed with honeyberries. I drive around town and spot them at commercial property and at little malls. I’ll sample the berries to see if they are any good. I’m very familiar with the plant (plus I grow both honeyberries and saskatoons). Saskatoons and serviceberries looks very different.
She said she purchased them through someone in the Alaska Pioneers Fruit Growers Association.
Leaves- honeyberry
Bark- honeyberry
Berries- honeyberry
Background and story- honeyberry
Birds and bird poop- honeyberry
I tried some of the berries when I was there- they were the blue tart honeyberries you come to know. They were just tiny- size of a small fingernail.
i have both berry blue and indigo gem. the indigo series are by far better but are a pain to pick because they only get 3ft tall and 5ft wide. mine are 6 years old and i pruned them last year for the 1st time. they rewarded me with 3 qts of fruit. i like them off the bush but better for processing. aurora rocks! my 2nd fav. is honeybee. its more upright like aurora and has good sized berries also.
I’ve planted Aurora, blue moon, boreal beast, boreal beauty, honey bee, and tundra this spring. Might get a few more varieties next spring if I don’t find other shrubs I’d rather fill in with. Mine are all obviously young but the blue moon seems the most prolific. It came as obvious tissue culture but is more vigorous than the rest.
The only day I’ll be out is for the Billy Idol concert, I should be at home most other fair days.
Do you want more strawberries? My daughter pretty much left the bed to it’s own devices and instead of a ton of strawberries it has a ton of runners… I can pin a bunch of them to cups.
LOL, I know. I almost included him in that same statement. I went to his “No more tours” concert forever ago and it wasn’t but a couple years and he was back on the road again. He was like an old gymp out on that stage but he loved soaking the crowd with the water canon while rocking the joint. What a preformer!
Last few times I saw Ozzy I’d like to forget. It saddened me that he needed a teleprompter with his own lyrics. I did however catch Dio on his last Heaven and Hell tour before he past away and he was still amazing. Ask me 20 year ago and I would have said the opposite.
I thought it was the no more tours tour, but I did a little research and it was the “Retirement sucks” tour in 1996. Either way, it’s funny I referred to him as an old gymp back then being as that’s about the age I am now.
just amazes me how much hes put himself though over the years and still played on. they wont need to embalm him when he croaks. hes pickled himself a long time ago. lol! he continued entertaining long after many of the other metal bands died off or retired. i guess we’re a little off topic. sorry mods.
