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Years ago, I was introduced to honeyberries (known to me as haskap berries) via a delicious jam from the province of Saskatchewan. Little did I know back then that growing honeberries is pretty easy. Though it’s not a fruit commonly known in North America, the shrubs thrive in most of the U.S. and Canada—even Alaska—and make a beautiful garden addition. Once established, the plants can produce for 30 years or more.
With a flavor that can be described as a cross between a blueberry and a raspberry—with a bit of a zing—honeyberries are versatile and delicious additions to a landscape. Also called haskaps (as I know them), blue honeysuckle, and sweet berry honeysuckle, you might be able to guess that honeyberries (Lonicera caerulea) are a member of the honeysuckle family. The blue, spindle-shaped honeyberry grows on attractive, deciduous, perennial bushes. In this article, I’ll share some cultivation and care tips, as well as how to harvest ripe honeberries.
What is a honeyberry?
The honeyberry has a thin skin, like a blueberry, and tiny seeds, like a kiwi. With a deep-blue color, it has more vitamin C and antioxidants than even blueberries.
These oddly shaped perennial berries are among the easiest to grow in northern regions. The earliest-maturing haskap berries ripen even before spring strawberries. By early summer, you’ll have flexed your kitchen creativity, as their plentiful production means you’ll have enough for making jams, juice, wine, syrups, and more.
The best climates for growing honeyberries
You’ll find success growing honeyberries in USDA zones 1-8. As plants native to the boreal forests of Asia
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Join us this summer as we explore some of the UK’s best 2-for-1 Gardens to visit in August, for fun days out with all the family. Whether it’s an adventure playground or woodland trail for the kids, or a rose garden or restored Elizabethan garden for the horticulturalists, there is plenty to enjoy at these gardens. Visit using your 2-for-1 Gardens card to save money on your trips to all these wonderful gardens.
Extreme heat waves are stressful for almost every type of plant in your garden, from flowers and vegetables to shrubs and trees—but especially for container-grown plants.
In 2020, as part of the annual trials at the University of Tennessee Gardens in Jackson, we grew ‘White Flame’ salvia, which was sent to us as a sample plant. It was an excellent performer and received our “Best of Show” award at the end of the season. As with other “annual” salvias, we expected it to die off over the winter. But to my great surprise, it returned the next year—as it has every year since, despite our temperatures dipping below zero on occasion.
How do you begin the process of designing or refining your own gardens, especially when there are so many things that you need to take into consideration? In this class, award-winning UK garden designer Annie Guilfoyle will guide you through the elements that make for a successful design and show you how to develop a garden that really suits your taste and lifestyle. This webinar will focus on how to use sketching and observation as tools to develop your technique. The process of designing your space should be fun, according to Annie, so she’ll share insights for how to develop your style using the influences of things you really like, such as textiles, art, and architecture. There will be plenty of suggestions on how to start your design process and gather inspiration—and, of course, we will touch on those oh-so-important plants.