So I have some of the early bloom ones in 7b … And they are starting to get quite unhappy right now from the heat and the sun (over 90 past few days). They also woke up at the end of February for me this year to my surprise (I thought they fried to death last year). 1 has leaf scorch (I think it might be tundra, but I’m not sure, I mixed 2 of my 3 up) but Aurora and I think indigo gem leaves aren’t scotching yet, but they have basically stopped growing.
From what I’ve heard/read. Get the late bloom varieties, and you’ll likely need shade cloth or plant them where they will be shaded from the extreme midday sun. I’m trying to figure out how to do shade cloth for mine without the HOA throwing a fit.
I think Honeyberry is like Currants in 8b. Not advisable. I have come to the same conclusion on Nanking Cherries. The plants are really wilting and browning out leaves now.
Zone 8 only refers to how cold it gets, not now hot. Currents do well in PNW zone 8 for example. I trust you that they don’t in your Georgia zone 8 though.
Thanks for the ping! Yes I am trialing a bunch and so far they seem to be fine and I’m seeing some new shoot growth on most if not all!
Here are the varieties I’m trying:
I ended up planting them all in 10gal containers with Gary’s Top Pot with a layer of wood ash per the recco on the Honeyberry thread and I mixed in some chicken compost on the top and then mulched them with some dried pea stalks I had saved as mulch. Once those decompose, I’ll replace with hay. I had 4 plants that were really tiny so I put them 2 to a 10 gal pot with the plan to separate and repot them this winter.
Since I got them bare root, and they had already received the right amount of chill but maybe were thrown off by my weirder weather plus the fact that it took me quite long to pot them up, I didn’t get a lot of honeyberries but my Keiko still set about 20 berries and I’ve been trying one or two every few days. Still a bit sour. Will try again in a few days.
I have them in a narrow corridor on the North East side of the house where they get some morning Sun but are mostly shaded otherwise by the walls.
Our house basically faces East with a slight angle.
Thanks so for the feedback. My goal is to have fruit for as many weeks of the year as possible. I was/ am hoping that honey berries can be part of that.
I am sure that I will kill many wonderful trees and bushes over the next years.
I’m kinda like a little kid waiting for Christmas. I just can’t wait.
Trip south delayed a couple weeks as we are waiting on a part for the drill rig. Still should get well drilled in July and house started.
I have 8 honey berries I put in ground this year in Reno. It’s been over 90 degrees almost every day for close to a month now. My plants are showing no signs of stress.
was 92 with heat index today.