What about Aurora and Honey Bee or Indigo Gem zone 7a? I see some places say the Aurora is fine to zone 9 but I’m skeptical. Especially when HoneyberryUSA tells me hey are good for zones 2-6.
i put in 15 Aurora, beauty, blizzard, and beast last fall. hope for a few berries this summer. i have high hopes for them. well see i guess!
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I’m in zone 7b here in NC, thinking about trying a couple of the Yezberries from PW, Sugar Pie and Honey Bunch. A few have suggested they would be better in warmer climates. Since they tolerate some shade, inter-planting under my orchard seems like it would work. Any other suggestions for the warmer zones for best flavor?
Wondering if any of the BU varieties are worth looking at in this area?
I’ve really appreciated all the input on this forum thread. It has been helpful for me trying out some Honeyberries for my first time. I’m in Spokane Washington a 5b/6a area. I ended up getting an Aurora, Indigo Gem, Blizzard, Beast from HoneyberryUSA this year. I wanted to try out and see if early or late varieties do better in my area. All the seedlings appear to be doing well so far. I put them in Part Sun/Shade due to sometimes we hit 100 degree F temps in the summer and it can get dry. I was wondering if anyone recommends pinching off the flowers like with blueberries during their first year to help encourage root growth? It sounds like honeyberries are very hardy plants though and might not need it. Thanks
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They are extremely fast growers, even when carrying a crop.
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In zone 7 they shut down when it gets hot so not fast growing for me. Maybe some varieties take the heat better.
Probably not because even in zone 6 they tend to go dormant over the summer. I need to put some in the ground from containers. I was thinking of doing it during the summer, but will wait till fall.
Same here, they pretty much quit growing by mid July, but when they do grow, they grow fast.
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Ha, your Honeyberry USA order was exactly the same as mine! I’m also growing honeyberries for the first time this year, also in 5b/6a - but in Massachusetts.
They’re in the ground and leafing out nicely.
I’m debating adding a Boreal Beauty later to hit the second half of Beast’s bloom time, but I’ll wait and see when they actually bloom here first, since the timing may be a little different from what they found in Saskatchewan.
Thanks for the tip!
Nice, I’ll have to stay in touch with you and compare notes. It will be like having a PenPal on the other side of the States. If things go well with these I was thinking maybe throwing a strawberry sensation in with the patch next year.
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So my Indigo Gem, Aurora and Blizzard bloomed around the same time and I’m seeing fruit starting on the Gem and Aurora. I think the Blizzard will soon start some fruit production as well because it has just finished its bloom and was slightly behind the Gem and Aurora. Oddly, my Beast hasn’t bloomed at all yet, even though it seems to be growing really well. I originally got the Beast to cross pollinate with the Blizzard but seems like the Gem and Aurora might be my cross pollinators in my climate zone. All the plants are in part shade but the Beast is slightly more in the sun. How are your plants doing over there in Massachusetts? I’m curious if you Beast has bloomed yet?
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My Aurora and Blizzard are blooming together. They started about two weeks ago, and both are beginning to make little fruits now, but Blizzard has more flower buds left to open and Aurora’s almost done. Beast is starting to bloom now, too, and already has one or two tiny fruits forming. It’s definitely behind the others, but it should catch the last bit of Blizzard’s bloom.
I don’t think my Gem’s going to bloom this year. It’s the littlest of the bunch, and it looks healthy but doesn’t have flower buds. Maybe my Gem and your Beast just need more time to grow. Here’s hoping they bloom next year!
All of them are in partial shade and wet loamy soil. We’ve had a rainy spring, which they seem to be enjoying.
Best wishes!
my aurora , indigo gem/ treat have leafed out here in n. maine but haven’t flowered yet.
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I have several honeyberry plants. To me they taste like tart grapes. Birds love them and mine are not heavy producers.
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That is how I would describe some gooseberries, but not honeyberries. I love the deep color, so far for me the U. of Sas. cultivars taste best to me. I may change my mind…
Looking forward to future cultivars.
Mine are loaded again this year, love it!
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Mine are just starting to form and the blossoms are falling. One of my seven bushes has a berry thats already turning purple. I live in central ohio.
I’m not sure I agree about the flavor, but our robins agree with your birds.
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LOL! Same here. I have a netted cage I put them in and have caught birds in the cage, not cool as my dog tried to get through the net to get the bird! He put some holes in it! I use zip ties for repairs. Yeah a bird got in somehow and then could not remember how it got in and was flying into the net making a bunch of noise, the dog ended up killing it before I could let it go. I praised him all the same. He will chase them off the property when they land or sneak on the property. Robins will walk in!
Funny he was on a farm this weekend (we are breeding him) and saw chickens for the first time. The rooster made a fuss, and he backed away, funny!
I have 24 haskaps, over half are 7 years old or so. I’m not sure about variatals since all but one were end-of-season. almost dead freebies from our local garden centre. (I’m southern Ontario, zone 5-5b)
We’ve really only had some production in the prior 2 years. I like the taste, but we use them for cooking, not fresh eating due to the tartness. Cooked, they have lovely, complex flavour that is unique but almost a mix of blueberry, raspberry and a good red wine. We love them in pancakes, crumbles, pies and muffins. (we recently found a muffin recipe that calls for blueberries and candied ginger that I can’t wait to use them in!)
We’ve had increased bird loss as they increase in production and this will be the first year we’ll net them. (Some Cedar Waxwings keep bringing more friends and clean us out) I do pick earlier than most are suggesting here, both because they will never survive the birds and we are fine with them being less sweet since they are for cooking.
For us, part of their value lies in providing a super early food source for our pollinators. They are always covered in the bumble queens and other bees and give what looks good food at a point when daffodils are about all that’s on offer. They are also in an area of the garden with extremely poor soil and they have had pretty much no care or feeding so getting decent looking shrubs that also provide such a tasty and early cooking berry makes them worth keeping around.
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