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

[Phill_Boise_7a]

I have hokkiado, tundra, cinderella, and one unknown. They have only been in the ground for 1 year, so that could be a factor. I will see next year, hopefully they are much better, i was getting little to no sweetness. I did wait a good 5 to 7 days after they turned blue, i even let a couple fall on the ground.

[TheDerek]

I know tundra and cinderella are a bit older, There are significantly better varieties available now, from what I have read. I dont own either tho so I cant speak for them personally. Hokkiado I know nothing about. I would suggest getting your hands on some of the newer varieties if you can and see how those turn out. I have high hopes for HB’s but I think they will continue to improve for a while still.

[Drew51]

I think they will continue to improve for a while still.

I do too, it might be worth waiting a bit before getting into these.

[KlecknerOasis]

I know tundra and cinderella are a bit older, There are significantly better varieties available now, from what I have read

tundra was one of the recent ones i’ve bought, what are considered the better ones available now?

[TheDerek]

Ive read good things about Aurora and Im assuming Blizzard and Beauty are good, if what UoS is writing is accurate at all. Berries Unlimited varieties are interesting sounding, but thats more of a crap shoot IMO, I got a few just to try anyway.

[Drew51]

what are considered the better ones available now?

Well many are new to us so have to be tested and such. About 35 new cultivars are out. I like the ones mentioned and several from Berries Unlimited which have been reviewed on other sites. As far as long term performance all are too new to know.
I’m testing a couple out. But I feel all the ones out now may be inferior to cultivars in development now. I have one called Blue Banana. A very small tissue cultured plant. I’m babying because it didn’t look good when it arrived and is struggling. Appears to be OK, but it could turn south on me. I hope not, it has blue leaves and the berries are sweeter than any releases from the University of Saskatchewan, according to reviews of both. I also have Honey Gin which is doing really well and again it’s berries are some of the most sweetest developed yet according to a honeyberry site that reviewed sweetness. I have yet to confirm, but should have some next year.

[Gsmeyer72]

I have just started growing solo and maxi here in zone 8 a in part sun. They seem happy so far even in the high 80s low 90 s. Crossing fingers for fruit.

[Drew51]

I have just started growing solo and maxi

I have those too. I like Solo as it grows upright and berries are easy to see for a honeyberry bush. Taste is similar to others. Tart, if left on more flavor, still some tartness. I’m hoping the new sweeter ones are better for fresh eating. I plan on using the older tart cultivars for smoothies, syrup, and jam.
I had some berries this year, but the birds ate most of them I’m afraid! I have to protect them earlier. I was out of town and they got me!

[TheDerek]

Here is brix from three Indigo Gem berries I tested this morning, this one was average, one other higher and one other lower.

3 berries are IG and the other is honey bee, which is about a week behind Im guessing, much tarter still.

[SMC_zone6]

I did a honeyberry taste test with two other people today and here’s what I came up with. Some plants are three years old, some are four. I didn’t try to protect them from birds. What you see is the yield of each plant. I should also add that we’ve had an exceptionally rainy spring, so that probably had an effect on flavor.

Tundra: Probably the most blueberry like in taste. Good tart/sweet balance. Enjoyed by all.

Cinderella: Good sweet flavor with a pleasantly sour aftertaste, which maybe came from the skin. This was my second favorite.

Borealis: Tart and a little bitter. Plus this one was hard to pick as the berries really clung to the plants. I’ll give it one more year but probably remove it.

Indigo Gem: Sweet and somewhat sour. Similar to Tundra. Also enjoyed by all.

Blue Velvet. Small yield. Tart/bitter taste. I’ll give it one more year.

? is Aurora: Easily the best of the bunch. Sweet flavor, good chewy texture, and best size berry and yield. A clear winner.

All in all, I’m a fan of these fruits. I can see how in a few more generations of breeding improvement these could become a very good garden berry that competes with blueberries.

Kind of an odd side note, there were quite a few berries that had this strand two-in-one look. Not sure what that’s all about.

[Drew51]

I had those too, the doubles. My first thought was they were injured early on. As birds were picking at mine till I covered them. I agree with you, they are OK now, but show some real potential for better cultivars.

[Phill_Boise_7a]

The number of berries in each pocket is related to pollination. A fully pollinated honeyberry will have two, a partial will have only one.

[Drew51]

I thought it was normal, my question was more of why is it exposed on some and not others?

[markalbob]

Last year I told my wife I was pretty sure I was done and had all of the fruit varieties I wanted. This year I wound up doing random trading and picking up about another 25 apples, one pear, some currants, and a handful of stone fruit plus a few more odds and ends.

Now I’m starting jujube seeds, and next year or the year after I will be looking for scionwood for them, Plus I wanted to see about getting a few paw paw varieties. Now there is these stupid things.

You guys are killing me.

[TheDerek]

Is tundra more productive than ig for u? What do u think would be best for processing out of the group? I have ig and access to tundra, not sure if it would bee worth adding or not…

[Antmary]

The newly planted honeyberry bushes are doing really good so far. We have very dry and hot weather, but they are still growing. They are planted in the semi protected place with morning sun and an afternoon shade. I also put them on the drip irrigation line. The hot weather does not bother them so much as I worried initially.

[SMC_zone6]

Tundra is more productive, yes. I’m not sure which would be best for processing. Out of the ones I have, I’d recommend Aurora and maybe try some of the newer releases.

[pileta]

there were quite a few berries that had this strand two-in-one look. Not sure what that’s all about.

This is normal. If You look closely to blooming honeyberry, You’ll see, that every new forming berry has two attached flowers.

[northwoodswis4]

Out of the ones I have, I’d recommend Aurora and maybe try some of the newer releases.

I whole-heartedly recommend Aurora. Very vigorous, huge berries, good flavor.

[murky]

I’ve suggested to others with sour berries that they should wait a significant time after reaching color before picking. The couple of honeyberry plants at my old place would get pretty sweet and palatable if held long enough.

In the interest of disclosure, at least some of the 5 distinct haskaps I have will fall off the bush before attaining sweetness (meaning they won’t get sweet). Some of this may be weather, but more likely it is genetics. I don’t mind, because these make superlative jam and are too tender to keep around for fresh eating. Plus the bleed from where they were picked. So they are either into the pan, or into the freezer for cooking, aside from the few we eat while we are out there.

Imagine the differences between cultivars of apples and how they behave. We could be having arguments that apples need cold storage for a few months before attaining peak (goldrush?), vs. having an 18 hour window in which they are good fresh (yellow transparent?), too sweet (fuji), too sour (granny smith), and so forth.