Monday, May 30, 2011

Zone 3 - Northern MN - Haskap Blossoms

Not all year old honeyberries bloom, but this one outshone the rest by bearing 18 pairs of delicate blossoms.
18 pairs of blossoms on year old Tundra

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Zone 6b - Berries in NJ, May 19, 2011

Matt's done it again - sent in a delightful honeysuckle foto that give us northerners something to look forward to!

Blue Velvet


Honeyberry and Haskap Patch (1-3 year old plants)
 "Both Tundra bushes (year old) have about a handful of green berries on each plant. I figure the berries will be ready in a couple more weeks. Both Tundra bushes have pretty much stopped growing but I hope they will have another growth spurt after the berries are picked. The (2+ year old) Blue Moon has been growing like crazy in the past few weeks, probably doubled in size. I think its safe to say the Blue Moon is doing the best out of all the bushes. It has a couple handful of small to medium green berries on it right now. The Blue Velvet dropped most of its flowers and fruit within the past few weeks which I expected due to shock from replanting in early spring, but it still has a handful of large berries on it. Blue Velvet is also the first out of all the bushes to have a some of its berries turn purple! So I assume it will ripen first." Matt, NJ

It looks like Matt has netted his plants so he might even get to eat the berries this year! Now he just has to wait for them to turn dark purple all the way through for the best flavor! Bernis, MN

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Zone 3 - Northern Minnesota - May 10, 2011


Three year old Blue Belle
While the focus of this blog is the Canadian bred haskap from the University of Saskatchewan, we're happy to see any Blue Honeysuckle bearing such pretty flowers! Blue Belle (lonicera kamchatika) sat outside this past winter at Bergeson Nursery with no winter damage and very early blooming. It measures 20" tall, and is expected to reach 3 feet at maturity. Joe Bergeson has been growing several varieties for three or four years in rich Red River Valley soil with good success. Bernis, with thanks to Joe