As far as I understand it, the nursery should have a trademarked name which they own to market their cultivars, and there should be a name for the cultivar which anyone would be able to use. For example, Pink Lady is the trademark of Cripps Pink apple. So I can’t sell Pink Lady apples unless I’m authorized by the trademark owner. But since the patent has expired I can sell Cripps Pink. I believe that is a similar situation for these haskaps, but it appears they are not patent protected based on the website description.
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My Blizzard plug is blooming and Aurora is not far behind. I up potted them to 4" pots and have had them under a grow light inside. Would it be detrimental to future growth to try hand pollination or is it normal for them to set fruit early?
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mine all set a few fruit the 1st year in ground. you can let them fruit but dont judge the taste until 3-4 yrs old and well established. youll love Aurora. its my fav. so far. i have indigo gem / treat but they are tarter but still good for processing. got beauty and beast coming in early may.
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Thanks Steve! I will reserve judgment but excitedly await some berries.
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biggest thing is to let them hang long enough. once theyre blue, leave them for another 2-3 weeks before picking. they need to be blue inside when ripe. its great to get fruit so early in the summer.
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I just pulled this of of the U of S site.
We were very saddened to hear of the passing of our dear friend Dr. Maxine M. Thompson. She contributed greatly to our program. From her vast knowledge that she readily shared, to sharing of haskap genetics she was a great asset to us, but more importantly she was a friend. She will be missed greatly. The following was written by Dr. Kim Hummer, head of the USDA genebank in Oregon. Most of Maxine’s breeding work was carried out on the genebank’s land. Kim was an associate of Maxine for several decades.
Emeritus Professor Dr. Maxine M. Thompson, Horticulturist, Plant Explorer (1926 – 2021)
The eye opener for me was she didn’t start breeding Haskap till she was in her seventies.
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I’m of the opinion that USDA plant discoveries belong to the people of the United States and not the USDA or Maxine.
But, it’s always sad to hear of loss of collective treasuries of knowledge when rare individuals kick the bucket.
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RIP Dr Maxine Thompson she really seemed like a wonderful lady and what a great job she did helping increase popularity and bringing us so many varieties. I have two of her kinds going right now!
I also think that things the government funds should be available to the people have you seen how many pharmaceuticals our colleges helped create.
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Here in zone 7A Beauty, Maxie, and Keiko have come back strong. They’re leafed out and preparing to bloom.
Beast is almost dead. It’s hanging on with just 3 leaves on it near the very base of the shrub. Beast is said to be a mid-late variety but also the earliest of the 4 varieties that I have
Beauty, Maxie, and Keiko are among the very latest you can find. Beauty (like Beast) is a Russian/Japanese cross from U of Sask while Maxie and Keiko are both part of the late Maxine Thompson’s Japanese genetics.
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Maxines selections are mostly pure Japanese genetics which makes them the most heat tolerant of the honeyberries. reason they are doing better for you than the U of Sask varieties which are mostly Russian genetics. i got beauty and beast coming in soon. looking forward to how they do here.
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Correction - it’s actually Beauty that’s almost dead. Beast is thriving…very much living up to it’s name.
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I found an Aurora honeyberry that had fallen to the (mulched) ground and had dried out a bit in the sun this evening. Oh yum, it was really good. That was the first one that I had had like that. I think we will be drying some out in the future. 
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I checked these this spring and noted blooms on both varieties for a good length of time. Today I checked on them and noted fruits on Berry Blue! I need to check Borealis to see if it has fruits forming.
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I attempted grafting honeyberries to bush honeysuckle (crazy invasive here, so thought I’d put those rootstocks to use). So far after 2 weeks they appear to have not taken. The one I just stuck in the ground is pushing leaves.
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thats too bad. at least youre getting 1 plant out of it.
my indigo gem and treat produced the most flowers ever. bet there were a hundred on each bush. the flowers are stating to drop off now. its the 1st year i really put the fertilizer to them. before that theyed only get a scoop of compost each in spring. guess they will be getting a annual dose of 10-10-10 from now on.
I need to cut and stick a soft cutting or three from my honeyberries…they need trimming to promote branching.
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All of the hardwood cuttings that I stuck in my outdoor prop bed early - late winter have taken. There were 2 or 3 that I found hanging from the shrub. The cambium was green so I stuck them in the prop bed and they took too. They take just as good as currents do for me.
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as soon as my auroras get big enough to do maintenence pruning ill be doing this. love aurora!
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I did some cuttings…dipped in hormone … and planted today as a matter of fact!
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