Usually our last frost is pretty severe, Definitely the outside ones fry and shrivel within a day of the hard frost, the “second berries” usually come from inside the plant and i see blooms many times in late june which seem to become berries in late july early august. I usually get my first set of berries like late june which i watched from the late may blooms, Its possible they are just delayed and Im not seeing the little bud sites thinking about being a honeyberry?
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This spring we had a northwester come through the last weekend of April. Temps down to -10 Celsius with howling winds and snow. All of my haskap were awake, but only my Polar Jewel(a pure Russian for pollination) had the majority of its flowers and leaves fully open. The Polar Jewel lost all of its flowers and many of the leaves on the north side. I was impressed with how the partially open flowers on Aurora, Borealis, and Indigo gem all went on to provide a decent harvest. The Polar Jewel provided no fruit, but by early summer it was looking quite healthy again.
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All of mine seem to have dry scars. I would agree they are not best for Upick. For one you should not be picking them. Shake the bush any that stay on are not ripe. use a tarp.
Some I found shed too easy others not enough but in general it is a good way to harvest.
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My location is in the middle of Europe, namely Slovakia - northeast of Slovakia.
This fruit is top and not just a taste. I have grown it for over 20 years. I have about 15 varieties and Russian, Slovak, Czech, Polish, Canadian and still renew them for newer varieties. They reproduce very easily and quickly, so do not be afraid to experiment. It is the first fruit we taste, easy to grow, no chemical treatment, resistant to late frost and in bloom up to - 8 degrees Celsius and in winter tolerates - 40 degrees Celsius. Full of antioxidants and thus overcomes many varieties of hitherto grown small fruit in our gardens.
I have a problem with English, but I would still like to share my experience with you in growing and tasting this excellent fruit.
Here is a forum - knowledge and experience of cultivation in our region:
http://www.kiwiforum.cz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=39&start=4530
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welcome Viktor. its good to hear from fruit growers in other countries. honeyberries are easy to grow here as well. they like our cold weather up here. some say most are too tart off the bush. i prefer eating them fresh but i also eat black currant fresh but most Americans don’t like their musky taste.
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Thank you for your welcome
20 years ago, our assortment was weak and often from seeds. Some were bitter. In 2001, two varieties were bred in Slovakia - Altai and Amur. Altai was very tall shrub - 1.8 m, poor fertility, fruits quite tasty with a special aroma. It served as a pollinator for the Amur variety. Amur is an unsurpassed variety so far in terms of balance of taste from all varieties that I have grown so far. It’s my honeyberries king.
Varieties I have experienced in cultivation:Amur, Altaj, Modrý Triumf, Sibír, Fialka, Morena, Čulimskaja, Jugana, Tundra, Leningradsky Velikan, Wojtek, Nymfa, Bakčarský Velikan, Amfora, Duet, Honeybee, Aurora, Blizzard, Beast, Sinij Utes, Vostorg.
I will break it down into criteria:
- taste criterion (They excel from the list with their dessert and aromatic taste)
1 is top.
- Amur
- Leningradský Velikán
- Aurora
- Jugana
- Morena
- Fertility + taste criterion
- Aurora
- Morena
- Amfora
- Jugana
- Wojtek
- Shelf life + fertility + taste criterion
- Top is Aurora
- Only fertility
- Honeybee
- Wojtek
- Size of fruits
- Bakčarský velikán – až 3,5 - 4cm
- Amfora – 3 – 3,5 cm
- Jugana
My top varieties are Aurora and Honeybee Pollinator, Honeybee, Amur, Amfora, Leningradký Velikán, Jugana, Morena.
If you want a dessert variety, you have to count on weaker fertility. The more varieties we have, the higher the probability of good pollination.
The sweetest variety and most aromatic I’ve tasted from my collection is the Leningradský Velikan. Amur has a more balanced acid / sugar ratio. There’s a taste for me.
Leningradsky Velikan - a variety selected in the Vavilov Institute from third generation seeds from the surroundings of Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka. The shrub is of medium size. Fruits dessert, sour-sweet taste with strong aroma. Secondary flowering undetected. Harvest from one shrub around 1kg. Falling fruit poor. Advantages of the variety: very tasty fruits, excellent transportability.
Lack of variety: less fertility
Then comes the Slovak variety Amur, which has a very balanced and dessert taste and does not fall. Disadvantage - poor fertility, but with good pollination fertility is quite sufficient. These varieties are good to eat directly from the bush and are excellent.
Amur - variety selected in the Slovak breeding institute Bojnice in 2001 from the free pollination of the Russian variety Gerda.
Shrubs of medium height with a height of about 1.5 m. Fruits with an average weight of about 0.8g with a bell-shaped fruit. Tasteful, relatively sweet, with no trace of bitterness. Advantages of the variety: excellent taste of fruits.
If somebody wants to include more criteria such as fruit size, fertility and taste in the variety selection, I would prefer the Canadian Aurora variety. A very vital variety that combines excellent properties such as fertility, size of fruits, flavor, aroma, strength of fruits and thus resistance to harvesting and storage is therefore also suitable for commercial use.
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i have aurora, indigo gem and indigo treat. i just ordered a honey bee. aurora is by far the best flavored of the 3 and also the best producer. unfortunately most european varieties aren’t unavailable here with the exception of some japanese and russian types. you have a great selection of honey berries. they are just starting to get popular here. I’m on the Canadian border. they are very popular there.
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Yes it is good. The U of Sas. program has now developed the Blizzard series. Bigger than Aurora with similar taste. I will need 2-3 more years to decide how they compare to Aurora. Breeders here are also using Japanese cultivars in their crosses. Many new cultivars will be developed as time goes on.
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I’m closely watching those selections and look forward to more reports on how they perform. i have another aurora and a honey bee coming this spring. i may remove indigo gem/ treat as they have produced poorly with poor vigor here.could also be the fact that i have a comfrey bush in between them only a few get away. i gave them a little more fertilizer to make up for it but it doesn’t seem to help much.
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Blizzard is OK. If it turns blue, it can be consumed. It has a gentle taste, but it quickly softens - overrides.
Blizzard
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Shelf life as a home gardener is not a concern. Since these berries are denser with few air pockets like other berries. Maybe why it softens quickly? I like them when they reach that stage. They should be longer than 3.5 cm and weigh over 3 grams.
Their is a private breeding program in the USA and they have been putting out cultivars like crazy too. I picked up a couple but have not compared them yet. Some are just renamed Russian varieties, or appear to be so. Not sure about that? I think so because they all of a sudden had dozens and dozens of varieties.
On Blizzard to me your berries look small
Here is a photo of Blizzard from a Canadian nursery
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Hey Viktor, you seem to have a lot of experience with honeyberries. Have you exported fruit before?
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What you have in your hand is not Blizzard. If Blizzard matures, it gets bigger. But it is soft inside as if it had an air bubble and there is a problem with both collection and handling. It has such a diamond shape.
Something similar to some large Russian varieties like Bakcarsky Velikan. They are as large as 3.5 - 4 cm, but have a cavity at the end of the fetus. In rainy weather there is mold.
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The breeder said it should weigh over 3 grams and be 3.5 cm long. So that picture looks right to me.
No it has no air bubbles. Why it should weigh over 3 grams. It’s all meat.
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Here is what the breeder, The University of Sask. Says about Blizzard
Ancestry: 50% Japanese, 50% Russian
Bloom Time Category: Late. Peak bloom is 4 to 7 days after Tundra/Indigo series
We categorize haskap bloom into 4 categories early, mid, late and very late. The late
category is similar to many Japanese selections but there are many Japanese
selections that bloom later.
Harvest Season: Coincides with strawberry season. At Saskatoon in 2014 fruits were
good the 1
st 3 weeks of July then began dropping. Ripening started 7 days after
Tundra & Indigos and 14 days after most Russian varieties in our collection.
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
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
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I always plant the plant in my own compost. Shallow spice and I never dig it. They like the manure in the fall. Mineral fertilizer NPK for snow - January - February. I always mulch and young plants grow very well when the root system is covered with a non-woven fabric. If it is already a large shrub itself, it protects the root system from over-drying. They like a lot of sun and protect them against strong winds. They do not like to have soaked soil - standing water. In spring they need a lot of water.
Quickly take root with green cuttings as soon as possible. Success is very high even without a stimulator - over 90%. Certain principles must be followed. Later, if gradually woody lose this ability. Branches cut the vertical branches always and 1-2 weeks after flowering. It can be cut until the twig bursts in the bend.
About reproduction, how to reproduce them quickly and I write my favorite cultivars.
In old shrubs, the periphery of the shrub is gradually thickened and bare inside. The fruits are only on the periphery of the bush. I cut the bush in autumn at 20cm from the soil. During the season new branches will grow around 1m. Then there are big fruits and not just on the edge of the bush.
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Thanks for the info Victor! My plants were rescues and I did not feed them the first couple of years so they have very tight, barren centres. I’ve been afraid to prune the centres but may try it this spring.
I froze a good part of our '19 harvest and have been using them in smoothies recently. I can see why this is expected to be one of their main NA markets.
They blend really easily and well, with none of the tough chunks you can get with blueberries. The flavour is great and while a bit tart, it’s not hard to balance the mix. The colour is rich and pretty as well. I’ve been throwing in a (very) few sea buckthorn berries* as well. A great combo! They are so good we may end up eating them all this way rather than baking.
*the local berry farm, down the road, put a number in a few years ago so I got some to try. Now I’m really glad I didn’t plant any! They may be incredibly nutritious but harvesting is a pain and the flavour is…intense.
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Your shape is different. But maybe it just distorts the shape on your hand. Now I noticed. It’s probably Blizzard too. In the middle should be extended and at the ends pointed. Some fruits may have an altered shape, but the standard Bizzard shape would prevail. Do you still have a picture of the fruits?
Blizzard is very tasty, but must be collected sooner, because it quickly softens. He clings to the shrub and when I tried to tear by hand, I had a problem because he was already very soft.
Here is the link: GOAKW
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maybe amount of water/ fertilizer received affects the fruit size and weight or regional growing differences between canada and slovakia?
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Consent. I guess I didn’t see this shape on your hand. Then it’s Blizzard.
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