FAQs: Growing Honeyberries, The Yankee Dirt

I ran across honeyberries in the “unusual and unique fruit” sections of fruit catalogs looooong before I ever saw a shrub for sale in an actual greenhouse. (Like, 10 years earlier.) This is a fantastic fruiting shrub with a lot to offer – but because honeyberries are relatively new to the fruit gardening market, it can be time-consuming to pin down what kind of growing environment this hardy fruiting shrub needs, what to expect in terms of fruit production and quality, and other gardening tips and advice on the plant. This article covers some of my biggest questions about growing these unusual (but awesome!) berries – about the honeyberry, how to care for honeyberry bushes, and about the fruit of the honeyberry.

What’s the Difference Between a Honeyberry and a Haskap?

Honeyberries and Haskaps are often confused or inter-labeled in nurseries or growing guides, because they are both members of the same species. If you think of it like a family, the “parent” or “species” is the Blue Honeysuckle. The “kids” or “subspecies” are honeyberries and haskaps. These plants are largely similar, but originate in different continents; technically, the correct use of “haskap” would be only for those shrubs that come from Japan, while “honeyberry” refers more to the subspecies from Russia. Growing environments for the two will vary somewhat, so it helps to know which type you’re getting… but for most northern gardeners who don’t have to deal with outrageous summer heat, you probably won’t have any issues even if you treat the two subspecies exactly the same.
*NOTE: For the purpose of this post, I’m going to call all subspecies honeyberries unless there is a specific reason to point out differences among the different types.
Read more about the difference between honeyberries and haskaps in this article from Utah State University.

What’s the Difference Between a Honeyberry and a Yezberry®?

“Yezberry” is a registered trademark of Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. You may run into it for specific Spring Meadow haskap cultivars (the ones I’ve seen have included “sugar pie,” “honeybunch,” and others), but some nurseries don’t actually know it’s just a trademark, and they label literally every honeyberry/haskap as a “yezberry.” (Kind of like how after a single brand of facial tissue got popular, everything you blew your nose on was automatically labeled a “Kleenex.”)
Spring Meadow offers multiple Yezberry/haskap varieties, and as a bonus they also offer a handy haskap growing guide. It’s not a huge growing guide, but there is some good information there (and they end with their own brief FAQ section!
Read more about the Yezberry trademark at the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Do Honeyberries Need a Pollinator?

Usually. I have seen honeyberries advertised that are self-pollinating (like the Solo berry sold by Logees), but I have never tried to grow any without a pollinator, so I can’t personally say I’ve seen it work. Usually, a honeyberry will require a second, different cultivar planted within pollination range. Additionally, even if a fruiting plant IS self-pollinating, a second bush isn’t going to hurt, so if you can plant two, you probably should. If you’re purchasing with the intent to grow just one, I would recommend buying from a reputable nursery… Logees has never sent me a bad plant, but there’s some others out there that are pretty sketchy.

Can Honeyberries Survive Swampy Soil?

Honeyberries do have a higher tolerance of wet soil than many other fruiting plants do, but always opt for good growing soil whenever possible. Just because a plant can survive “wet feet” doesn’t mean that it likes it!
Read more about the soil tolerance of honeyberries in this article from South Dakota State Univeristy Extension.

What Do Honeyberries Taste Like?

In my personal opinion, a honeyberry tastes just like a blueberry. Even an unripe honeyberry tastes like an unripe blueberry! If picked too early, there’s definitely a sour pucker going on (but still not enough to deter me from eating them). Be aware that some of the expertly bred varieties are much higher quality than a borderline-wild type; something barely out of the woods might be pretty sour! Granted, I have a limited number of the cultivated varieties (only about three different cultivars at the moment), so if there’s a huge taste difference from one cultivated type to another, I may not have tried enough of a variety to run into it yet.

When Do Honeyberries Fruit?

Honeyberries are EARLY! The plants themselves leaf out faster than almost any other shrub I have (and faster than most of the native weedy shrubs in my area, too). The fruit turns blue even before the strawberries have blossomed, so make sure you keep an eye on the bushes in early spring – blink and you’ll miss it. The birds will appreciate the fruit if you don’t get out there in time to pick it.
Early fruiting does mean that a really deep freeze may damage some of the blossoms or fruit set. The honeyberry is wildly cold-resistant and will often fruit despite these setbacks, but just be aware that an anomaly year might do a number on your fruit. Don’t rip out the bushes if your first year is a bust, you might have simply run into bad timing with the weather.

Do Honeyberries Need the Same Acidic Soil as Blueberries?

Absolutely not. One of the biggest bonuses of growing honeyberries rather than blueberries is that you should NOT need to deal with soil acidity problems and amendments to lower the pH. Unlike the blueberry, honeyberries will thrive in a wide range of soil pH levels (Stark Bro’s suggests anywhere from 5.5 to 7.5). If blueberries have failed to thrive in your area, honeyberries might be a better option!
Read more about fertilizing honeyberry plants from Stark Bro’s growing guide.

What’s the Most Important Thing to Know About Growing Honeyberries?

In my opinion, the most important advice for gardeners new to growing honeyberries would be to choose a cultivar wisely! In particular, look for fruit taste and size before you buy. I really, really wish I had known about the wide range of fruit sizes for the honeyberry before I had bought my first plant. Yes, even the small berries are great… but honeyberries can be REALLY small. Shop around for a large-fruiting variety, or you may find your valuable garden space taken up by a bush that grows small, sour berries.

Where Can I Learn More About Growing Honeyberries?

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet (even here, haha). Look for sites written by nursery growers that have demonstrated expertise with honeyberries, or from a university or cooperative extension office. One of my favorite resources is the haskap article bank from University of Saskatchewan. There’s lots of information there!

If you’ve ever considered growing honeyberries but weren’t sure if the plant was right for you, I highly recommend giving this tough little shrub a chance. As long as your growing environment is zone 3 or above, the honeyberry can handle your temperatures – and the fruit doesn’t require the fussiness of acidifying that blueberries do. If you’re looking for a resilient, plant-it-and-forget-it fruiting shrub, it’s hard to go wrong with the honeyberry.

This post was originally published in 2023. The post has since been updated to keep information and links current.

Epic Fails of a Northern Fruit Gardener

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply