divaqs's Blog

Honeyberry
Jun 13, 2007 | 9:43 AM PST
Tags: Honeyberry , Lonicera caerulea , Blue-berried Honeysuckle , Sweetberry Honeysuckle

Ever wanted to grow something different? I push the limit all the time, every year trying to expand the variety of berries and edible plants in my yard, both for the joy of trying something new and exciting, but also to try to beautify my yard more by adding more foliage variety. One of my experiments has been growing Honeyberries (Lonicera caerulea) sometimes called Blue-berried Honeysuckle or Sweetberry Honeysuckle, which came to me as a Father’s Day gift a couple years ago.

These are deciduous berry bushes that in about June produce elliptical shaped berries that are blue in color.

They aren’t heavy producers, but they are earlier then blueberries. The berries if eaten when first appearing can be kind of tart, but if allowed to ripen more, for at least a couple of weeks, will sweeten up. I remember last year the berries staying on the bush for a surprisingly long time, increasing in sweetness the longer I left them. The flavor of the berries isn't something to rave about, but if allowed to sweeten is okay.

Honeyberry bushes are really robust, being able to withstand up to minus 40 degree temperatures. I have seen no problems with disease on mine. You do need to have a pollinator in order to get berries, so be sure to get two different varieties. They are shade tolerant, as evident by the one I took a picture of, which only gets about an hour of direct sunlight a day.

Here is a picture of my other honeyberry bush, which gets more sunlight, but isn't noticeably bigger.