What's the verdict on Honeyberries...are they tasty?

mine did that when young. as long as the bloom the same time they should eventually set fruit.

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I planted Blue Moon and Blue Velvet back in 2012 and they had half a dozen in 2013 and the number fruits grew each season. I’ve sold some. Don’t have those varieties anymore, and I think I lost Blue Pagoda to drought.
Currently have small Borealis and another variety in a one gallon that I bought 15 months ago in a 4 inch pot…so no fruits this summer for me to sample.

I don’t recall off hand, I’ll check to see if I have tags at their base. They were from Burpee, but my prior orders on their website don’t go back far enough. Edit: found the tags, varieties are Berry Blue and Borealis. Blue Berry is taller and more upright, Borealis is shorter and wider.

That sounds like a correct description of the plant characteristics based on what I’ve seen. I’m at a loss as to why you are not seeing any berries.

You get bloom but no fruit? Do you see bees visiting? maybe those varieties are too closely related?

Yes, a lot of blooms. I don’t think there is a compatibility problem re: pollination, but I do question how many pollinators/bees I have when they do bloom, it’s pretty early for our Z4a. I’ll let them be and see… (protective fencing in the rear of the photo is 5’ tall).

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Next blooms you see, maybe try pollinating some yourself with a cotton swab or small paint brush.

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HoneyberryUSA has a pollination chart on their site that says what berries pollinate the others. id check to see if they’re comparable. aurora is somewhat self fertile and its so far the biggest best tasting berry out of my 5.

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i checked their website. berry blue is a early bloomer. borealis is a mid bloomer but its says the mids catch 90-95% of the early bloom except in varieties that have a short bloom period. maybe borealis is one of those? adding a aurora to your collection would fix that for you. its a mid as well.

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Aurora is a must. I’m air layering a second plant. My Aurora is going on three weeks with blue berries. I’m letting it go a week or so more.

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That’ll work! I may move them to the nursery bed with the blue berries.

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I have berry blue, borealis and tundra producing, they pollinate eachother, bumblebees and humming birds are the main pollinizers so i would look out for them. I planted some aurora this year as well will see how they do.

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how much direct sun do they get each day?

6-7 hours.

that could b an issue i think. are they blooming well?

Yes, both were loaded with blooms this spring, and at the same time.

I was unable to post. Therefore, I am late sending pictures from my experiment recovery and shaping of shrubs. I am satisfied because nice crowns have been created as I expected.


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nice Viktor! that makes picking much easier. did you tie them to get them like that or use wire?

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Here I described how I do it. these are older shrubs that I will rejuvenate with this

In this way they grow during the season after the autumn total cut of about 1m.

first year after autumn complete pruning of twigs

the second year they look like this in the spring

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From such shrubs the fruits are harvested very comfortably. I tried it this spring and it was great. I will see how long it will be sustainable.

In nature, these sprouts grow in thickets and thus protect shallow roots from drying out. Naturally, the regenerating twigs stretch for the light. The fruits are largely on the tops of the twigs and thus on the periphery of the bushes and heal below.

Basically, I took advantage of the renewal vitality of the bushes after the total autumn cut. If the regenerating twigs start to grow, I will gradually bandage them so that they grow upright and the two sticks prevent the wind from bending and breaking. Thus, upright in autumn, they reach a height of about 1 m and woody. this is how they take shape.

In the spring, twigs tend to lean to the side and branch at the top. It arises as if a tree were shaved at the bottom and branched at the top. The fruits are at the top.

The fact that such “trees” are at intervals does not protect the roots from sun-drying. Therefore, it is important to protect their roots. Nonwovens have worked for me and they grow very well then.

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