I’m no expert on honeyberry but wouldn’t a paint brush work for pollination?
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I believe so. Earning a living, and crossing apples has a higher priority on my time, though.
Plus other stuff I desire to spend time on. Not everything I’d like to do gets done–I suspect I’m not the only one that has this problem. 
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Or a dust mop!
Thanks
I am testing 4 pure Japanese varieties in a walnut grove. I researched the hell out of it and was not satisfied with answers. I had other Japanese lonicera growing great under my walnut trees.
There are several anecdotal reports that honeyberries are sensitive to black walnut trees. Commercial growers are very unlikely to encounter problems with black walnut leaving only hobbyist reports. Most popular hobbyist cultivars in the past decade have been primarily from Russian varieties. Japanese heritage plants are relatively new to the western hobbyist so the tolerance of black walnut is unlikely fully explored. My hypothesis is that the existence of walnut trees in a given area applies selective pressure on the other plants in its ecosystem causing greater tolerance of the chemical toxin juglone. A counter point to this hypothesis is that most of the Ribes family of plants are highly tolerant to juglone yet their native ranges barely overlap. Here is a map of the geographic distribution of the Juglandaceae family of plants: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugland… Notice that there are no native walnut plants in north eastern Russia or Kamchatka. Those varieties would have no reason to be resistant to juglone.
It is still way too early to judge an outcome. This is only their first winter in the ground.
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Thanks for your input:)
I see you have grown some of the newer varieties including those from Maxine Thompson. Which variety is your favorite so far. Do you feel there is a large difference in taste between varieties?
Of the Thompson line I have Keiko and Maxie.
Maxie is pretty comparable to my Saskatchewan varieties (Beast/Beauty). Tart and sweet. I think Beast/Beauty stand out more and are my favorites of the four.
Keiko has been distinct for me. It gets sweet but not quite as tart and has an herbal or grassy flavor that is not present in the others
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For the most part they are pretty similar. Berry Blue and Blue Belle are very astringent. It seems like Sugar Mountain Blue was a tad sweeter than some. The main advantage of most of the newer kinds was larger size for easier picking and bigger yield . I am still waiting for fruit on some varieties. I keep hoping to find some great knock-out variety. For fresh eating I much prefer blueberries, but they are harder to grow this far north. Honeyberry flip is quite tasty.
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Aurora, aurora, aurora! you cant go wrong plus its the only honeyberry that i know of that is somewhat self pollinating. my boreal series have only given me a few berries so far and hopefully they live up to their expectations but a mature aurora is very productive with big tasty berries.
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Got Aurora and potted them…probably 45 days or so ago…vigor surprises me…best start of any I’ve ever tried. Even 16 degrees didn’t burn their leaves. (Or maybe it is that Hartmann’s raises superior plants?)
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out of the 6 varieties i grow , aurora and honey bee are showing the most growth per season and they all get the same treatments. indigo gem/ treat were the slowest and they came from Hartmanns. 
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My Indigo Treat/Gem came from Burnt Ridge. (I did get 'em at a good price.) Not nearly the plants that Aurora are.
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they are short and not nearly as productive but i still like them. until they come out with something better than aurora. they will stay.
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So I have some potted honeyberries inside and it is getting close to time to move them outside into the ground, and I am wondering how best to select a site for them. Just curious if anyone has experience with these in the sunny West. How important is shade (although it may be easier to put up shade cloth that to fine a shady spot on my place). I expect to have to irrigate during the hot, dry summer months. Suggestions, advice?
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i think in your zone just water them well and keep a good 4in+ of mulch around them. its ok if their leaves drop in mid / late summer. they’ll come right back as soon as it cools or the following season. if you could give some afternoon shade that would be ideal but not necessary. what cultivars are you growing? the pure Japanese seem to handle heat better.
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I’ve got Aurora, Tundra and Indigo Gem and Berry Blue. Not sure but I don’t think any of these are Japanese in origin.
One other question for my area would be how wind tolerant are or aren’t honeyberries?
ive got all but tundra. they’re mostly Russian lineage bred in Canada. early bearing. they will be ok if you do what i mentioned. they don’t like dry wind but if well-watered they should do ok. they will lose their leaves in the heat of the summer. keep watering. theyll come back. if you have sandy soil add alot of compost to the hole when you plant. good luck!
Most of mine are going on the north side of the house to try and squeeze some productivity out of the shade. I’m not saying it’s a good idea, just that it’s worth trying and leaps and bounds better than the junky looking boxwood I replaced. If my plants are junky looking for part of the year, at least these ones give me food!
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Mine in leaf already took 16 degrees in flying colors last month.
30 tomorro night should not be a problem at all.
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