Anyone grow honeyberries?

[Flatrock]

I wanted to try and get some blueberry plants going this year but our soil has a high pH around 7 and it sounds like honeyberries would do well. Anyone grow them and what do you think of them? Also, if you do, what variety do you have or like the best?

 

[thriller1]

Cant remember the variety but I get zero berries. I ordered a male and female from Gurneys but they will not produce

 

[Petras]

I have a couple in my back yard. Don't remember what the variety is, but they absolutely exploded in size going into their second summer. They went from being about the size of a basketball to being the size of a beach ball in about 2 months. After you plant them I would build a bird proof enclosure around them as the birds absolutely feast on them. They produce a pretty tart berry, I like them myself, but I know a lot of people will make syrup or jam with them. Once we get our house built out in the country I will be planting at least a dozen of the bushes because I'd love to be able to get enough berries to make some decent sized batches of jam.

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Also, the ones that we have produce their berries pretty early in the summer, and they aren't real big either. most of the time you really have to look for them in order to see them as they are hidden by the leaves of the bush pretty well.

 

[guywhofishes]

Cant remember the variety but I get zero berries. I ordered a male and female from Gurneys but they will not produce

there are some varieties that require other varieties alongside them or they don’t fruit

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the jam is some of the most complex/tasty I’ve ever had

planted six last summer - praying they do well over winter

 

[Skeeter]

Cant remember the variety but I get zero berries. I ordered a male and female from Gurneys but they will not produce

Maybe they are gay plants

 

[BDub]

Lycan has lots of information about these. The two I planted haven't done worth a crap.

 

[Flatrock]

Lycan has lots of information about these. The two I planted haven't done worth a crap.

K thanks. If he doesn't chime in, I'll send him a pm.

How about juneberry trees? Are they tough to get established and growing?

 

[KDM]

I've got about 20 plants so far and they are doing GREAT!! I plan on putting a few more in this spring as they are the first fruits of the year and the berries mature in early June. We love the berries and Mrs. KDM makes jams, jellies, and syrup out of whatever I don't put on ice cream. I don't have the varieties off the top of my head, but when mama gets up, I'll find out and repost. It took 2 years to get the plants to really produce, but after that it's been crazy how much we get from each plant. The biggest plants we have are about beach ball size and they are 4 years old now and I don't think they will get any bigger.

Tried juneberries three times and they were a complete bust each time. If you are looking for fruit bearing bushes, we have lots of Nankin Cherries and those things produce very well and are my favorite. They have grown real well in our soils and produce gallons of berries per plant when mature. Let me know if you want more info on those.

 

[guywhofishes]

https://research-groups.usask.ca/fruit/index.php

these folks eat/breath haskaps (honeyberries)

 

[KDM]

We have Cinderella, Borealis, Berry Blue, and Tundra varieties, but are going to plant a different variety this spring. The variation in berry size and flavor is mind boggling.

 

[Allen]

I have 3 different varieties of honeyberries. They are pretty easy to grow, certainly a lot easier than blueberries or even juneberries. However, they are a real SOB to protect. Rabbits and goats will eat them right down to the roots. Yeah, they'll come back from that if they are even remotely established...but still.

 

[guywhofishes]

they are also not much fun to pick

I recommend one of these and a headlamp

 

[Lycanthrope]

Are you after tart berries for processing or sweeter berries for fresh eating? Course you can process sweeter berries also by adding a little acid. Id recommend most of the newer University of Saskatchewan varieties, honey bee is good also. How many do you want to plant and what are your goals? Supposedly after a few years they will produce 5+lbs / bush but none of mine are old enough yet to know. I planted about 150 of them last fall on my land. Aurora and Honey Bee are compatible for pollination and they mature fairly early. later, newer varieties that are supposed to go well together are Boreal Beast, Blizzard and Beauty. There are other varieties out there but some are hard to get (developed in EU and russia) or arent as well tested (Berries Unlimited). If you really want to dive deep, spend an hour or so reading this thread! https://growingfruit.org/t/whats-the-verdict-on-honeyberries-are-they-tasty/9256/15

Also heres some ladies that are REALLY into honeyberries!

<a data-cke-saved-href="https://growingfruit.org/t/whats-the-verdict-on-honeyberries-are-they-tasty/9256/15" href="https://growingfruit.org/t/whats-the-verdict-on-honeyberries-are-they-tasty/9256/15">

 

[wstnodak]

We have Cinderella, Borealis, Berry Blue, and Tundra varieties, but are going to plant a different variety this spring. The variation in berry size and flavor is mind boggling.

Where did you buy them KDM?

 

[KDM]

Where did you buy them KDM?

Fleet Farm or our local nursery. I'm not much into internet plant buying. I like to see what I get before dropping the cash. That way I have nobody to blame but myself if the damn thing croaks.

 

[guywhofishes]

Runnings in Moorhead had a heck of a nice variety/selection of haskap last spring.

 

[Lycanthrope]

If you want to harvest honeyberry youll need to net them, I wouldnt buy any older varieties, Ive had tundra and Borealis and dug them out, they arent worth the hassle. Honeyberryusa is a good retailer if you want to check them out. Ive gotten several bushes from them and they are always healthy. Last spring I ordered direct from a propagator in Canada and paid about 1/3 the price of retail.

 

[guywhofishes]

I have 3 different varieties of honeyberries. They are pretty easy to grow, certainly a lot easier than blueberries or even juneberries. However, they are a real SOB to protect. Rabbits and goats will eat them right down to the roots. Yeah, they'll come back from that if they are even remotely established...but still.

wait - goats? geez that sounds like work.

 

[Wags2.0]

I’m not sure what I’d do if I woke up one morning to goats randomly in my yard. Probably wouldn’t be mad, just amazed

 

[Captain Ahab]

I have 3 different varieties of honeyberries. They are pretty easy to grow, certainly a lot easier than blueberries or even juneberries. However, they are a real SOB to protect. Rabbits and goats will eat them right down to the roots. Yeah, they'll come back from that if they are even remotely established...but still.

You should have buttonhooked them.