I don’t have enough experience yet to reply.
(I did though…)…
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Actually, I find most of the newer varieties very similar in flavor. Size and harvest time vary. Some of the older varieties like Berry Blue are small and astringent. Solo is pretty tasty.
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Frozen honeyberries microwaved in a
bowl of oat bran with milk and sugar are very delicious. Our favorite way to enjoy them.
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Since we usually eat them cooked into something, I wouldn’t worry about brix, but would go for ease of picking, which usually translates to larger size. I also like to vary ripening dates in case we travel or can’t harvest them at certain times. Life happens.
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I’ve read of some folks shaking* the ripe plants and “picking” them like that.
(*Onto cloth, umbrellas, etc…)
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@cowardly_lying I decided to post the pictures of what my honeyberries look like now under this thread instead of the Berries Unlimited thread since none of these actually came from BU.
This first picture is of an Aurora or Tundra that I propagated by simply sticking scion in my prop bed late winter 2019/2020. I am planning to plant them out within the next few weeks or so. Anyway, My prop bed is shaded by a peach tree (at least I think it’s a peach… I’m not even sure how it got where it is and it’s really late ripening… it tastes like a peach to me… but I digress… 
). The important thing that I wanted to share is that it is growing in shade.
This one was planted this spring (2021) in the ground under that same tree. I didn’t want to plant it in the field until this fall.
These are planted in fruit guilds in the field, planted late spring 2019. They do not have any shade for the most part because the fruit trees that they are planted with are not mature enough to shade them yet.
Also in the field in a guild… a few look like this. The greenery you see are not honeyberry leaves. This honeyberry looks dead, but it is not and there are some newer baby leaves on it, but they are hard to see in the picture.
Finally, this one, planted last spring, is in the field, but mulched with woven black ground cover… even so there are a lot of weeds in the area shading it, but not really close to the plant.
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I changed the wording above because I was mistaken about when I stuck those honeyberry cuttings. Also, it was dormant hardwood (top of plant) that I stuck.
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Before you ask, planted the pots in the ground because I will be moving them to a different property next year and figured this would be the easiest way.
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When I finally got out to my orchard a few days ago after being out of commission from knee surgery, I found that my numerous honeyberry bushes still had their leaves yet in late September. We had drought this past summer, but the bushes were occasionally soaked good with a sprinkler.
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mine still have their leaves after our drought as well but they do look pretty ratty. i watered them occasionally during august heat so i think that helped. the 2020 drought they lost some leaves but it was drier than this year.
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if there are any green leaves on them at all when frost hits they should be fine next spring, I’ve had small plants that had no leaves on them come back to life the next spring…
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This is the damaged Aurora I posted back in July in this thread. When we get all this snow, it elevates the level of the dogs and they can reach higher up on the plant than they normally would be inclined to chew. This plant has taken quite a beating. I’m curious to see what it looks like in the spring and how much growth it will put out now since it has been “pruned” aggressively. I hope it spurs some new life in the plant. I don’t expect I’ll get much fruit next season on this one.
As a side note, the honeyberries that are sprawling / wider than they are tall are covered and completely buried in snow and have been left alone by the dogs. I like the taller and skinnier plants, but that’s an unforeseen advantage of the short and wide plant type.
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So the cuttings didn’t root either?
Not sure if that was directed at me or someone else- but my cuttings had an initial burst of life and put out some roots and some new leaves…then they promptly collapsed and died.
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I have 3 varieties im trying to root right now… i have them in the dark with just a hint of daylight and its somewhat chilly at around 30 to 40 degrees… since they are cold natured plants i will see if they prefer this or not. Im not even going to look at them for a few months, but will mist them once a week to simulate late fall.
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Huh I recently tried a pineberry, at my local orchard store that carries local and native produce, but it just tasted like eating a regular strawberry that was that color - unripe.
Of course, it’s dead of winter, but…
Who knew you could propagate haskap by simply putting softwood cuttings in water and wait!? (they were in full sun btw) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSyyqdQAhKK/
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I tried that, but they got 1/8 inch roots, then all died.
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They turn yellow when overripe, a tint of red is common, the more sun the redder they are.
Color is not an indicator of ripeness, except I guess, yellow, they turn yellow before rotting. White D is awesome big, is vigorous and spreads easily. It’s all over my garden. I only get the pineapple or citrus like taste when fresh. In jams it’s more like a regular strawberry. They certainly are not unripe when white, extremely soft, not good for shipping at all. My wife hates the soft texture. I don’t mind it, but agree it would be nice to have a firm berry. Reminds me of soft sweet cherries. Makes a nice jam but color when turn an unappealing brown after a few months. Best to use reds or a mixed batch. You could make light red strawberry jam. Use 20% reds.
Here at 9 O clock is an example of the color range
Here on a dried slice ( I love dried strawberries, so darn good, the best!) The major difference besides color of flesh is that the seeds are red.
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