I have a dumb question. Are honeyberries evergreen or deciduous? After a rough summer the three survivors defoliated, but have put on a few leaves, and now they are dropping these too. Meanwhile the new plants I now regret ordering have not put on any foliage except for one random one, and it’s dropping it too. This looks like fall leaf drop, but I thought the plants were evergreen. Wood is still green when I scratch it.
Googling it, it looks like they go dormant, but I just wanted to check.
They drop their leaves in fall. They sometimes also drop leaves in early summer here if it’s really dry and I forget to water them, and then they grow a second flush in early fall.
A couple of my older varieties actually started to blossom in a warm spell just before Thanksgiving. Then it dropped to three degrees, so I hope they were dormant enough.
Mine bloomed also and last I looked it appeared to have a couple berries haha we haven’t gotten below freezing yet so I doubt they will work in my area anyhow but I wanted to try them
Those should do fine.
Hope they did.
It snowed, so I added some ashes under the bushes.
"It seems that the Honeybee variety of shrub is thickening very quickly. I need to prune it more often compared to other varieties. However, it is primarily intended for pollination, so I don’t have many planted. I only plant it sporadically. After pruning and rejuvenating, the fruits are large, and it is very fertile. It is a very suitable variety for processing.
In the fall, I completed the planting of Aurora. I believe the autumn season is more suitable for planting than the spring season. However, I haven’t had a chance to put stakes on the bird net yet.
Winter is more stable than the previous one, but extreme frosts haven’t occurred so far. It was only -15°C for three days, but winter is not over yet, so we’ll see. There might be a lot of snow as precipitation is frequent."
These are interesting observations regarding the issue of pollination in Haskap flowers. It is possible that pollination of Haskap flowers also occurs in the evening.
https://pollinationecology.org/index.php/jpe/article/download/370/138/1470
cit: DISCUSSION
The timing of commencement of anthesis in Haskap is staggered; flowers open throughout the day, and likely during the night as well. The majority of flowers were first observed to be open by 9 AM; since observations were not made overnight, it is possible that many of the flowers observed at this time actually opened earlier, as anthesis appeared quite advanced in some of these flowers. Although this should be confirmed by future studies, it could indicate that nocturnal insects such as moths may be important contributors to Haskap pollination, in addition to diurnal bees and flies. This is further supported by our observation that roughly 20% of Haskap flowers also open in the evening. The average duration of anthesis of the un-pollinated flowers is 83 hours (3.5 days; Fig. 2); however, pollination will significantly shorten this, triggering senescence of the flowers on an average of 34 hours following the pollination event. Our findings are slightly shorter than those of Bożek & Wieniarska (2006) who found that flowers of Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica lived 4-5 days, but they also noted that flowers excluded from pollinators were longer lived. This extended floral period may result in more opportunities for visitation by insects and increased pollination success, while senescence in response to pollination reduces the occurrence of repeat visits to flowers that are already pollinated, and may also reduce damage to the flowers, which can reduce seed set (Young 1988; Burquez & Corbet 1991). Our observation that emasculation has no effect on floral longevity in Haskap suggests it is completely selfincompatible, and self-pollination does not shorten the lifespan of the flower, nor does it result in significant stigma clogging that may prevent cross pollination. However, although we did not quantify actual levels of self-pollination in this study, field studies have shown significant self-pollination of the stigma (Frier et al. 2016). It is possible that in greenhouse conditions very little selfpollination actually occurs, and in more realistic settings (with vigorous disruption by wind and handling by insect visitors) these factors may be more significant. This is made more likely by the fact that the anthers dehisce almost immediately following the onset of anthesis (Fig. 3), leaving little or no prior opportunity for cross-pollination. This strategy could maximize the chance that pollen is picked up by a floral visitor, but it also could increase the chance of self-pollen interfering with cross-pollination of the stigma and reducing reproductive success (Bertin & Sullivan 1988; Galen et al. 1989; Waser & Price 1991; Broyles & Wyatt 1993; Barrett 2002), especially because the anthers and stigma exist in very close proximity to one another. If this type of stigma clogging is common, this could suggest some competition or trade-off between male and female reproductive success in Haskap. It may be worthwhile to explore differences in style length among Haskap cultivars, as well as compared to wild varieties, as longer styles may be less likely to experience self-pollination. Nectar production begins as soon as the flowers open, perhaps even slightly before, during the bud stage. We have observed bumble bees visiting Haskap flowers before they are entirely open, and our results suggest that the stigma is receptive at this stage as well. Early nectar production and stigma receptivity may have evolved to take advantage of these early visitors and increase the chance of successful pollination. Nectar production peaks between 8-16 hours of anthesis and is maintained throughout the lifetime of the inflorescence. Considerable variation in the amount of nectar is consistent with findings that variability in nectar production is correlated with large floral displays (Biernaskie & Cartar 2004), as risk-averse pollinators pay shorter visits to a single bush when nectar is variable (Biernaskie et al. 2002). As Haskap produces many flowers simultaneously and is self-incompatible, this strategy would help decrease the instance of geitonogamy and promote cross-pollination. We found no evidence of nectar resorption, and the corolla abscised from the ovaries with the nectar load intact. However, we only analyzed nectar dynamics in un-pollinated flowers; in some flowers, reabsorption is triggered by pollination, presumably to reuse the energy resources in berry development (Luyt & Johnson 2002). However, Burquez and Corbet (1991) suggest that if the nectary is lost when the corolla dehisces, as in Lonicera, reabsorption is unlikely. Additionally, the entire nectar volume can be replaced several times throughout anthesis. This may be an adaptation to nectar robbers or ineffective pollinators, increasing the possibility of repeat visits to a single flower. We have commonly observed both honey bees and bumble bees nectar robbing the flowers, and there is evidence that many legitimate pollinator visits do not deposit sufficient pollen grains for full fertilization of the ovaries (Frier et al. 2016).
The results of this study suggest that Haskap flowers are likely generalized in their pollinator attraction strategy and may be pollinated by a wide variety of insect species and functional groups. Haskap flowering occurs very early in the year when few pollinators are active, and the characteristics described here may reflect adaptations to capitalize on every opportunity to receive a successful pollination visit. The flowers, which open throughout the day (and perhaps the night as well), remain open for up to four days, but successful pollination triggers early senescence. Nectar is produced immediately upon anthesis, potentially beginning in the large bud stage. After initial nectar production the volume is held relatively constant until senescence and any nectar removed during this period is replaced. The anthers begin to dehisce immediately after the flower opens and continue over the first day. The stigma appears receptive in the bud stage, and could potentially be pollinated before the flower opens. As a plant with polyphilic flowers, Haskap is less likely to be pollinator limited than more specialized species, and it may be effectively pollinated by a wide variety of managed and wild insects. This means that Haskap could be successfully cultivated in many habitats and geographic locations, and not be limited to distributions or commercial use of specific pollinators. As the flowers are observed to open in the evening, it is likely that nocturnal insects such as moths are important pollinators of this crop, not just diurnal bees and flies. Haskap growers should take advantage of this generalist system by developing and maintaining healthy pollinator habitat in and around Haskap orchards, as species rich pollinator populations may be essential to realizing optimum fruit yields from this crop (Frier et al. 2016).
Ill add that last spring for the 1st. time, i saw many hummingbirds in my haskap, very early on. i didnt even realize they had arrived here so early in the spring. i saw them in my indigos in early may, as soon as the flowers opened.
That is interesting. They hit the honeyberries here, but the hummingbirds seem to arrive like clockwork on the second to third week of May. I haven’t ever seen then on the first week, even when we are in the seventies.
maybe that’s why i hadn’t noticed them in there before last spring? maybe the warmer temps last winter are causing them to migrate north sooner? they usually arrive here about the same timeframe you posted as well. ill have to keep a eye out again for them and note the date. i was trying to prune those bushes and was getting buzzed by hummingbirds. lol.
Got to love 'em. I am curious to see if they come earlier than ever this year, what with the mild winter we have been experiencing. First year to mow weeds down on Christmas Eve.
It never occurred to me to walk around the bushes in the evening to see if anything is flying around the flowers. It is also interesting that I have seen bumblebees and bees flying around buds that are not fully opened yet. Additionally, what I have noticed is the development of fruit after secondary blooming, where the flowers did not fully develop, but somehow the fruit still grew there.
I have also seen Macroglossum stellatarum and butterflies flying around the flowers.
This can’t be true for all cultivars as I have observed fruit set on varieties that did not have access to pollen from other varieties.
The Solo cultivar supposedly self fruitful.
i got a solo i put in 2 years ago. a tiny plant i got from hirts for $7. should get some fruit to try next summer. its grown well.
Haskap is incompatible, and this reduces the occurrence of geitonogamy, which results in low seed production. This is evident during secondary flowering when there are no pollinators, and fruits grow as if from buds, appearing peculiar. Cross-pollination with efficient pollinators of unrelated species is essential, ensuring the abundant production of seeds and large, flavorful fruits.
Insufficient pollination in Haskap would not be an issue if self-pollination were effective. When there is very little or no fruit production, and the fruits are small, tasteless, and deformed despite flowering, it indicates that the bushes are not self-pollinating.
I’m unsure if there is a self-pollinating variety that would yield enough flavorful and large fruit. When there is a significant opportunity for self-pollination, such as in the case of late secondary flowering, the fruit yield is low, and the fruits are peculiar and tasteless, or they may not develop at all.
ive seen those misshaped fruit. especially on indigo gem/ treat. not as common since honeybee started to fruit last year.
I observed that pollination from adjacent unrelated varieties even had an impact on the temporary and non-standard shape of fruits. At the tops of Amur variety bushes, some fruits exhibited three distinct shapes, resembling those of neighboring bushes: pointed, like Altai, standard bell-shaped, like the Amur variety, and oval, like the Duet variety. Of course, the majority of fruits exhibited the standard bell-shaped form.
No one is arguing that that isn’t true for most cultivars. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t exceptions. My “Blue Pagoda” (Chitose #11) has produced good quality berries two years in a row from flowers which bloomed without overlap from other cultivars. Many have observed the same with ‘Aurora’ and now there is ‘Solo’ which is being marketed specifically as self fertile.
What is true most of the time, does not have to be true all of the time.
A sufficient pollination is the foundation, and only then can other factors influencing fertility come into play.
I wouldn’t rely solely on self-pollination, and it’s better to have other unrelated varieties. Even if there is some degree of self-pollination, like side doors for the plant, it cannot compete with cross-pollination by unrelated varieties, as cross-pollination ensures a larger quantity of fruits that are bigger and tastier. If a high level of self-pollination shortens the lifespan of flowers and leads to significant clogging of the stigma, it would hinder cross-pollination. Self-pollination would precede cross-pollination, causing flowers to age immediately, reducing sensitivity to pollen. Low sensitivity to its own pollen is advantageous for the plant, as it allows the extension of the flower’s lifespan and provides an opportunity for more suitable cross-pollination. Constant replenishing of different nectar levels indicates that the plant aims to increase the number of visits and the frequency of pollinators. If the plant favored self-pollination, it would be unnecessary expenditure, as it increases the energy costs of maintaining the flower. Plants make compromises depending on conditions. However, this is just my opinion. Regardless of how self-pollination works, I am certain that with multiple unrelated varieties, fertility is incomparably greater.
There have also been discussions here about some varieties being self-pollinating. I also have a variety - Violet - about which this is said. However, I don’t rely on it and have many different varieties.
