Haskap Across the USA

Haskap Across the USA (based in part on this blog) was presented on July 20 at the 2012 U of S Haskap Day in Saskatoon, SK. Based on feedback from across the USA, scorching heat is hard (and sometimes deadly) on Borealis and Tundra haskap, but this is not reflected in the USDA plant zones. One grower is in zone 10b due to warm winter temps, but did not have the scorching summer heat that say OK, zone 7b, had last year.

It is possible to get berries without a non-related variety nearby for pollination, but the fruit will not be as plentiful or as large. Josh in KS (zone 5b) reported "The bad news is the Berry Blue never leafed out. The good is that I have 10 small berries on my Borealis."(Both bushes from year-old stock, planted end of March 2012)

Borealis blossoms in Kansas on year-old plant Apr 15, 2012

Borealis berry in Kansas on year-old plant May 15, 2012

Dean from zone 10b in CA reports, "The average summertime high temp where we are in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles is in the high 80’s, low 90’s, and dry, and in the winter daytime temps can be in the 50’s and 60’s.

The Berry Blue is doing very well since planting in April 2011. It's gotten much larger and is sprouting new growth. I'm guessing that the plant is about 18-24" tall now. It has not sprouted fruit, but I didn't necessarily expect that it would as I've only had both plants about 1-1/2 year. The Borealis is doing OK, but has barely grown at all and there's no new growth that I can see, possibly due to transplanting from my garden to the raised bed.

Both plants have developed an odd problem. All of the leaves other than the new growth on the Berry Blue is covered in what look like water spots but are the only leaves in the yard to display such markings, and I water under the foliage."

Two year old Borealis in CA, July 4, 2012

Spotting and drying edges on Borealis leaves in CA is not pretty but plant is surviving.
Might want to check the spots for mycelium. July 4, 2012

Fall Haskap Blossoms

Lonicera Caerulia L. have not ceased to surprise me. Our biggest plant, a 3-year-old potted Tundra was accidentally left out in the hot sun for a several days in late August and completely dried out. Most of the leaves shriveled up and fell off. Having seen tremendous tenacity in other blue honeysuckles that had come upon hard times, I doused it with water and kept up with the moisture for the next month. But not seeing any new growth, I thought I would have to wait until spring to determine if it survived. Can you imagine my shock to find this gorgeous cluster of blossoms at the end of one of those "dead branches"?

Fall blossoms on 3 year old Tundra, Sept. 27, 2011

Then the question was whether these blossoms would turn into berries. While another blue honeysuckle plant of a different variety is recommended for maximum fruit production, it is possible to get fruit without another plant. And sure enough, this Tundra did not disappoint us. Out of the half dozen or so blossoms, we found three little green berries! Another twenty days or so and they should be ripe!  - Nov. 15 update: no berries matured :-( Guess I'll have to wait 'til spring!

Three berries have formed, Oct. 2, 2011

I have also seen haskap survive after being stripped of all its leaves through accidental weeding. Haskap may need at least a month or more to show any sign of life, so don't give up on them too soon! Only 1.3% of this spring's shipment did not survive transplanting for unknown reasons, and once they get established they are very hardy.    -Bernis, northern MN

Zone 5a, Illinois - Borealis Haskap Survivor, planting tips

"The leaves on the plants developed brown spots and 7 out of 8 have died. This plant survived after spraying it with an anti fungal spray. I could have done a better job gradually exposing the plants to full sunlight. I planted the berries in Miracle Grow potting soil assuming that they would do well in that kind of soil." Doug, IL (late June planting)

(Editor's notes)
Ideal planting time: late fall or early spring, with dormant plants that can go directly into your pots or ground soil, but we have had very good success with later plantings as well (<2% fatality rate for late June planting). When actively growing plants are shipped, they need adequate hardening off, gradually increasing their exposure to direct sunshine over a 5 day period if the sun is strong.

Brown spots on leaves: The leaves may develop some brown spots during shipping. Our state inspector recommended treatment with a copper fungicide available at local hardware stores, but said it wasn't anything to be overly concerned about. Our experience has shown that the overwhelming majority of plants will survive and produce new growth. Also, in windy areas, the undersides of the leaves may be exposed to the sun scorch (brown streaks) but the leaf does not wither and the plant still survives.

Fertlization: The plants have been given good nutrients in the nursery and do not require additional fertilization the first year, though testing needs to be done to determine what fertilization schedule would be optimal. Aged manure is the tried and trusted fertilizer of choice but we are also looking into other ecologically-based options such as the water soluable 2 step program offered by EarthSoils.  Dry fertilizator spread on top of the soil has burned the bark and killed other growers' plants. Applying water soluable fertilizer in excessive amounts will damage the plants as well. Do not apply fertilizer past mid summer so that the plants do not continue to put out new growth, as they need to prepare their roots for dormancy. 

Thank you, Doug, for sharing your experience and fotos. We not only publish success stories but seek to learn from all experiences, so congratulations on being our HoneyberryUSA 2011 Foto Contest Winner! We trust you'll have better success with your replacement plants in the fall!

Bernis, HoneyberryUSA

Tracking haskap in the USA

Where are haskap being grown in the USA? We are especially interesting in tracking plants from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. But any comments on Edible Blue Honeysuckle are welcome! Honeyberry, as it is known in the USA, zhimolost in Russia - we'd like to hear from you! Let us know in the comment section your state, or province or country, the variety, and how your plants are doing (age, productivity, etc).

We will start off by saying that in September of 2010, we planted 115 Tundra and Borealis haskap from Saskatchewan, Canada, along with 11 of their recommended pollinizer honeyberry, Berry Blue, from Oregon. Shrubs were also sent to North Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Oregon. 25 other Minnesotans received plants from us so it should be interesting to see how they all do in 2011!

For more information, and if you wonder how this all got started, click here.