At the time I wasn’t bright enough to know there were several varieties, I was just doing what my extension agent recommended and was ordering in some Juneberries. And at that time Gurney’s did not offer variety options, just the one I got. Upon arrival the tag on the plants only said Amelanchier. So I tried to find that out AFTER I received them, as to exactly what I’d been sold and they were unable to pin down the variety. So now I’m down to hoping they make a fruit this year…, and that it’s good fruit.
I put Aurora, Borealis, and Indigo Gem Honeyberry’s in last year and I probably should not have let them set any fruit, but Aurora and Indigo Gem put on a few berries and I liked them well enough. I didn’t have a large enough sample size to know a lot but maybe this year they’ll have more…
I have a few honeyberries, but they are at my cottage and are not thriving. I would like to add three here, but I don’t know where I would put them?
I ordered Northline service berry yesterday. I have to grow it in a pot. It is a small bush though and should be fine. I may have suckers to trade in the future. It apparently suckers a lot. It is from all accounts a good one.
I have to find room for the honeyberries, I’m going to try and root some cuttings from the plants at my cottage.
The Canadian Saskatoons do horribly at my site, fungus eventually killed all of them. Amelanchier is a native tree here- I even have a volunteer in my yard, but those diminutive ones mentioned are not suitable in the northeast or areas with high humidity. They are a northern prairie plant that Dirr calls suitable for Z 4 and 5. The latin name is Am. alnifolia.
There is one amelanchier called Autumn Brilliance that is an Amelanchier grandiflora that is drought resistant, grows quickly and bears very nice fruit. Years ago I purchased about 10 of them bare-root that were 2" diameter 8’ tall trees shipped from the midwest. They established extremely quickly and are beautiful landscape trees that top at about 20’ if you let them.
The fruit ISN’T like a blueberry, except in appearance and they tend to fruit profusely enough that the birds have to leave you plenty of ripe fruit. They have a distinctive almond flavor- good for having some off the tree but I wouldn’t bother harvesting to eat out of a bowl later.
Some are very susceptible, the newer ones are better. Plus we have two major strains Asian and European[quote=“alan, post:24, topic:4864”]
There is one amelanchier called Autumn Brilliance that is an Amelanchier grandiflora that is drought resistant, grows quickly and bears very nice fruit
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Yes, a nice one, that one died on me though. My fault though. I would like to get that again eventually. My cottage killed it. The only fruit trees so far I can get to grow there are tart or sweet cherries, and cornus mas dogwoods.
OK, I gave in and ordered more Honeyberries! I’m also going to move the ones I have from my cottage to here. I will have 5 cultivars now. I ordered
Aurora (berries are HUGE!)
Largest berry with sweetest taste, fast grower and very good productivity
Easy to pick
Resistent to mildew
Early-mid blooming (in the North, a few days after the early bloomers)
Pollinates all other honeyberries listed on this page, and vice versa
Needs a different honeyberry for pollination.
Mature height estimated at 5-6 feet, upgright and spreading shape
Indigo Treat Honeyberry
Fruit high in flavor similar to Indigo Gem
Excellent firmness, similar to Tundra, but higher yield
More tolerant of mildew and sunburn than many other varieties
V-shaped, open bush
Early through mid blooming
Mature height 4-6’
We recommend Aurora, Honey Bee, Berry Smart Blue or Svetlana for pollinization
I have at my cottage Borealis, and Berry Blue. I have an unknown cultivar I got from Michigan Bulb. I ordered two plants. They were 1 inch high! That place is such a rip off! Anyway one died, and they got mixed up, so cultivar is unknown. I will dig them out of the ground in April and put them here.
I also put myself on the waiting list for Boreal Blizzard from the U of S, and Solo™ and Maxie™ Yezberries® (sweetberry honeysuckle/honeyberry/haskap) from Dr. Maxine Thompson’s breeding program.
The latter two are the only Japanese cultivar I have. Some say these are way different with a completely different taste profile.
Drew,
If interested I could send some small plants or cuttings.They are the only Haskap I’ve tried.I bought them from Maxine a few years ago when she was at the All About Fruit Show in Canby,Oregon.They were random plants and not named and are the Japanese type. Brady
Yes, yes, and yes. Are they hard to propagate from cuttings? I could pay you back with plants, cuttings from my cultivars. And right the only things that are Haskap are the Japanese cultivars. the Eastern Euro plants should be not be called Haskaps. For your location I would stick with the Maxine’s cultivars. Maybe next year or this fall i can root cuttings for you.
They are fairly easy to start with either by mist or fog and probably could just as well be done with a plastic bag over a container.
Yes,she said Haskaps were best for the Northwest.
I contacted Honeyberry USA and they said the bloom times will probably be different with the Russian types,but mentioned they were working with her on other varieties,which probably includes the ones in your post. Brady
I’ve grown Regent for ~5 years now. The bush was nice and big from Rolling River and bloomed either the planting year or the next. It’s pollinator was a tiny twig of Fergie from St Laurence. I don’t remember if the Fergie ever produced anything, but the Regent did make some bland berries. Nothing impressive at all. It also suffered from rush on some of the berries. I also ordered a few others (Northline and Theissen- maybe as bonus plants from Raintree?), but never got past keeping them in a pot. I’m not sure how many are still alive, but now that I have a 2nd site with some space, I may plant any which are still kicking. At least then I won’t need to water them…
The Regent is the only one still in ground and I will definitely dig it up. It is taking up one of the best spots in the yard, with respect to sun. It wasn’t like that when it was planted, but when a couple large trees were removed, ~3 years ago, it became prime real estate. I’m currently deciding if a Jujube or a Euro plum get’s the spot.
edit: accidentally edited and reverted (hopefully).
Thanks Bob, I heard Regent yeah is not very good!
Right now I’m more interested in Honeyberries. i added some new cultivars to my collection. From Japanese heritage.
Solo™ and Maxie™ Yezberries®
Large berries are sweet and juicy; enjoy them fresh or processed.
Fruit ripens a couple weeks after early ripening (Russian) honeyberries.
Cold hardy, but better suited to temperate climates than early blooming varieties.
Origin: Developed in the U.S. from germplasm from Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island.
Shrub Type: Deciduous
Height: 5-6 feet
Spacing: 5-6 feet
Spread: 5-6 feet
Flower Colors: Pale yellow
Light Requirement: Part Sun to Sun
Blooms On: Old Wood
Bloom Time: Early spring, late blooming category (14 days or more later than the early bloomers)
Pollination: Solo™ will bear fruit without another haskap for pollinization,
but gets larger and more numerous berries with a companion pollenizer.
Maxie™ needs a companio such as Solo™ which blossoms at the same time.
Boreal Blizzard blossoms at a similar time.
Pollinizer ratio: Opinions vary, though 1:3 or more should be adequate for home growers. (at least one companion per three of another single variety)
Water Category: Average. Water well first couple of years. Plants are more drought tolerant when mature.
Weeds: Critical to keep grass/weeds 2-3 feet away from young plants.
Pruning: Ater 4-5 years, do so after harvesting the fruit or in the winter.
Predators: Birds (net bushes when berries are green), deer (young bushes), fox and even Fido the dog may also like the berries.
Harvest: Pick fruit 3 weeks after berries turn blue for maximum sweetness; taste one for sweetness first and if it is still green inside and on the sour side, give it a few more days.
Next year I may add Boreal Blizzard
Boreal Blizzard’ was so
named because the fruit size, productivity, and flavour stopped the
University of Saskatchewan evaluators in
their tracks.
Ancestry: 50% Japanese, 50% Russian
Fruit Weight: 2.8 grams avg., 3.9 grams max
Fruit Shape: ‘Surfboard’. Rounded narrower ends, wide centre, a bit flattened
Fruit Firmness: Good
Flavour: Excellent, its ‘tang’ and ‘zing’ is possibly the best ever (similar to Aurora)
Sugars: 13.3 Brix pH: 3.3 Total Acidity: 1.08% Malic Equivalent
Bush Habit and Vigour: Upright and strong grower. The original seedling was 50%
taller than ‘Indigo Gem’ planted at the same time, same field
Mildew and Sunscald Resistance: Excellent
Productivity: Heavy
Bloom Time Category: Late. Peak bloom is 4 to 7 days after Tundra/Indigo series. Similar to many Japanese selections but there are many Japanese
selections that bloom later.
Pollinizers: Solo™ and Maxie™ Yezberries®
may be the best, but the last of the Tundra/Indigo bloom should catch
the first 60% of Blizzard (according to zone 2 bloom times). Aurora is
too closely related to be a good pollenizer.
I noticed brix is not super high so I suspect these berries have some tart flavor. Fine with me! I want them mostly for cooking anyway.
I also have Borealis, Berry Blue,Aurora, and Indigo Treat. So I think my plate is rather full now.
I planted two dormant ones already this year. I think it was called blueberry. They looked dead when I got them but I didn’t do the scratch test. They came by fedex I think, and when I got home I just planted them on the uphill side of my vegetable garden.
I ve got 4 varieties (tundra and borealis are definitely two of them. They are only in their 2nd, 3rd year in ground, so still small. They are already awakening. Boreal Blizzard looks excellent. I just cringe when I see: minimum order 25 plants and then international shipping and phyto sanitary certificates.
Honeyberries USA is selling them one at a time, they want 20 bucks though! I’m waiting till next year to get the Boreal Blizzard. They will not have them till May, and may not be able to ship to the fall, so next spring for me.
You had to sign up for the waiting list to get the offer. I bought Solo and Maxie as I’m curious about the Asian cultivars. They are much later blooming. And Solo is self fertile! Less chance of frost damage to blooms with these Japanese cultivars. They should arrive in April. And only 15 bucks each. Not cheap, but not too bad.
My Borealis, and Berry Blue.are 3 years old, but more like 2 growing at my cottage as stated I’m bringing those puppies here and growth will explode! I should get a decent crop next year.
Solo
Maxie
Berries are different looking. Taste profile should be different too. I think though I have plenty now. I have 6 cultivars, 4 are new, 3 are 3 years old. And I’ll pick one more the BB, next year.
I now have 7 blueberries too.
Spring meadow nursery (here in Mi) is offering Maxie Yezberry as part of the Proven Winners line according to their website. On the SM site it is very expensive $39.00.
I might have to keep my eyes open for that one at some of the local nurseries which I know carry the proven winners plants.
Scott
PS Solo is listed on the proven winners site, though I didn’t notice it on the spring meadow site.
Regent here in the Washington DC/MD area. Fruits every year, but very susceptible to fungal disease here. I like the taste: almond flaver coming through. For some reason, Regent cultivar seems very commonn. Grows in bush form and spreads via suckers. I suspect Juneberries are just not well acclimated to our hot humid weather.
At HoneyberriesUSA it is $15.00, although they charge $20.00 postage. well I’m getting 4 plants for $20.00 postage. Same postage for 2! I added two, and postage stayed the same.
