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

Maybe I’ll have to grab some to fill that gap :wink:

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I actually have collected all of those except Aurora, and plan to add it and probably Honeybee this year. All are too young to know anything about them except for what the websites say.

In the past I have had Blue Moon, Blue Velvet, Blue Pagoda, and maybe Tundra. But, either sold them all or they died. I like the Blue Moon, but expect the newer cultivars are superior.

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I hate to be a bubbleburster, but from what I’ve seen from people growing them around here, Aurora and Indigo Gem ripen about the same time as the main crop of Junebearing strawberries. I think Beauty, Beast, and Blizzard are after that. I think it’s mostly the older varieties with Eastern European genetics that ripen super early, but those are the ones with the most mixed reviews on flavor. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong on any of those counts.

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There’s always the freezer, or juice, or jam, or honeyberry wine…if strawberries ripen at the same time and they’re the preferred fruit for fresh consumption at the time. Jewel is on the later end of strawberry production…early June here. But, I haven’t had enough ripe honeyberries to really say if they reach over and ripen together here. I do know Jewel is a nice berry that comes on about the time Earliglow is fading into tiny fruits.

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mine started ripening about 10 days before my AC Wendy strawberries started to ripen and they are the earliest strawberry i have but they did mostly finish ripening about the same time as the strawberries.

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I have one plant of Strawberry Sensation in Southern Vermont (4b/5a) which fruited well last year. It’s tasty, and a good variety. I have it planted near some of Thompson’s Japanese varieties and the Boreal series. I don’t recall which bloomed first, but it was in the same range as both of those.

It looks like LoveHoneyberry puts at the same time as Boreal Beauty: Berries Unlimited – Strawberry Sensation - Love Honeyberry. HoneyberryUSA seems to agree: Honeyberry, Haskap, and other Cold Hardy Fruit Trees. I think that may be your best choice, although at least for me last year, I think the other Boreal’s might have been sufficient.

Regarding strawberries, I think we were getting some early strawberries the same time we harvested the later haskap, although they were before the main crop. But unless you are working at a commercial level and are labor constrained, I don’t think this should be any reason to avoid them. They go well together, both visually and for flavor.

For propagation, you probably should know that Berries Unlimited is extremely against you doing anything with their varieties besides growing the plant they send you. I think Strawberry Sensation is PPAF (Plant Patent Applied For), and I think they currently require you to sign a non-propagation agreement if you buy from them.

I corresponded pleasantly by email with Lydia (the breeder at BU) until I mentioned that I was considering doing some breeding of my own. At that point, the conversation quickly turned hostile. She started by claiming it was illegal to pollinate another plant with her varieties (or vice versa), then eventually agreed that even if it was was legal, it offended her terribly. My reluctant conclusion was that it was simplest to avoid planting any more of her varieties.

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Thanks for the heads up Nate!

That basically makes up my mind as far as SS goes if I’m not allowed to propagate it. There isn’t anything mentioned on the honeyberry USA page about a patent or PPAF but the berries unlimited page does mention it.

As far as breeding goes, there are no laws I’m aware of which prevent anyone from being able to use the genetic material to breed new cultivars. I’m planning to try this with KSU Chapell pawpaw to try and improve it further with some others in the next few years and that is a patented variety. As long as you aren’t cloning there is nothing they can do to you to my knowledge, unless you’ve signed some agreement saying you won’t breed using their plant. I’m not sure that is enforceable if so, because you can’t control what pollen the bees spread if the birds accidentally spread seeds… If someone knows better please correct me if I’m wrong.

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No, you’re right. But, in corn seeds, Bayer has won some cases where WIND took and crosspollinated using their ‘roundup ready’ gene.
But, generally speaking, there is no problem using patented plants as mothers or fathers of children you desire to try and raise.

Some may disagree, but I don’t see a problem grafting a second tree of a patented variety if I am going to use it myself, basically in case the original I purchased dies. So long as I’m not selling or trading.

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GMO is an altogether different topic for sure

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@disc4tw @blueberry there are such things as utility patents where if there’s a sufficiently novel trait, the breeder can patent that trait, and any breeding work using those genetics would violate the patent. That mostly applies to GMO, but it has been used on traits that show up in conventional breeding. There’s even one case where one of the “big guys” applied for and got a utility patent on a rare but existing broccoli trait, because patent workers aren’t necessarily plant experts. Utility patents are pretty rare, fortunately. I wouldn’t expect them to show up in pawpaws unless they develop one that can be picked and shipped rock hard, or keeps for months, or something like that.

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Yea I don’t think strawberry sensation has the market cornered on the taste of “strawberry”… It’s pretty easy to find in other fruits too… :relaxed:

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This thread has been kicking around since 2017, so I’m wondering if anyone can report good results growing in zone 7 location. From the bits and pieces I’ve seen, it sounds like they really struggle, but I’m hoping someone has had good survival and reasonably sized harvests. Any good news?

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Honeyberries can grow just fine zone 2-9.

Early blooming = plant survives just fine, but blooms before there are bugs flying around to pollinate. You may have trouble getting fruit.

Late blooming = plant survives just fine, but blooms later when there are more bugs flying around.

As far as temperatures go, they can survive at zone 2. In warmer regions, they need a certain number of chill hours to set fruit, so as long as you have somewhat of a winter where the trees still lose their leaves you will be ok.

The Maxine Thompson varieties were developed in Corvallis- that’s zone 8.

An early blooming variety may bloom too early for you so you may want to stick with the late blooming varieties (beauty, blizzard, beast, + some of the Thompson cultivars).

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I am curious how my Aurora /Indigo Gem/Honeybees will do in z6. Time will tell next year…

This is from a pollination perspective of course.

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I have decided to give honeyberries a try, and was curious if anyone has any experience growing them on the eastern slope of the Rockies (8300’ elevation, zone 5).

Also, after reading/skimming this thread I had settled on a few varieties to start with, but am having no luck finding anyone with Aurora for sale. Anyone know where one might buy Aurora for shipment this spring?

Sending you a pm Steve.

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Might be possible on this group buy.
https://growingfruit.org/t/hartmann-plant-company-joint-order-spring-2022-honeyberry-raspberry-kiwi-lingon-blue-cranberries-units-of-1-or-2-possible/42152

Looks like they are available at https://honeyberryusa.com/honeyberry-plants-1.html

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Jung seeds has them as well.

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They’re disappearing fast…I started doing an order and items ‘sold out’ as I
got to the ‘checkout’.