Sorry to post a non fig question...

I have seen a lot about Honeyberries in the last few years.

Can anyone attempt to describe the flavor and...

More specifically - Is this a fad type of plant or does the flavor warrant it having a place in the yard?

Sometimes I have noticed that some of these fad/exotic type plants are not worth the time or space...

Thanks for the info...

oh good luck... I read and finally bought 2 different varieties this year... hopefully will have berries this year and give you my input...

I have been trying to grow honey berries for the last several years in south central Indiana. They don't seem to mind the cold winters but they struggle in the heat of summer. I have 2 left out of the 6 I bought 3 years ago and they haven't bloomed for me yet. I don't recommend them for this far south - zone 6.

Hi,
I bought two last year ... Well talk about a stupid idea ...
They need lots of water to keep the bush alive.
My 2 are struggling. I might have some fruits this year and none last year.
If you're looking for something new go Tayberry/Boysenberry .You won't be deceived .

Your climate may allow for better results though. Here in the summer, the weather is pretty dry and those plants want humid conditions or so I read, and so it seems to me.
The bushes keep on crumbling on itself. Some stems grow very little, some die-back for no reason.

I bought 2 varieties a couple of years ago on sale.  We're zone 4.  The yr. I bought them they produced a couple of berries and I liked them.  Not quite as sweet as blue berries.  Last fall I mulched one and didn't get around to mulching the other.  The one I mulched is 2x larger than the one I didn't mulch.  I planted them on a hill and we have sandy soil.  A late frost last Sat. took out 80% of the red grape harvest in our area.  Also messed with the 15 to 20 yr. old apple trees from seed that bloomed for the first time this year in our yard. 

The honey berries look fine and I will continue to work with them to produce more berries and expand the varieties in the future.  One thing you need to do is pick the berries dead ripe to get the best flavor...  We have 1 Cinderella and 1 Tundra.

I like mine.  Planted some last year and getting berries this year.  They started turning blue 2 weeks ago and I hear that it takes about 3 weeks to ripen after they turn blue.  They have good flavor from the little bit that I've tried.  More flavor and sweeter than blueberries and grow much better for me than blueberries do.  100x better than goji flavor.  Honeyberries can be tart if not fully ripened.  Some varieties I hear can be bitter.  Some people describe them as similar to blueberries, raspberry/blackberry mix, grapes, etc.

I have mine planted in partial shade which probably helps this far south.  They do stop growing in the heat of the summer or at least they did last year.  This year they are growing like crazy with our cool weather.  Cold definitely isn't an issue for them.

Some new cultivars have been and are being developed that look good.  You have 2 types too. You have Honeyberries from Europe, and Haskaps from Japan. Solo and Maxie are new haskap plants. These bloom later, may be better fit for your environment.  Their are three or four major breeding programs. A series called Boreal, developed by the University of Saskatchewan looks interesting. later blooming large size.
Some info on them
http://www.fruit.usask.ca/Documents/Haskap/Boreal%20Beauty.pdf
http://www.fruit.usask.ca/Documents/Haskap/Boreal%20Blizzard.pdf
They don't do well in warm climates. Even here in MI it's kinda warm for them.

I researched it in the past and opted out. I tasted some at a garden center last summer and they weren't impressive, of course they were in trade pots so what does one expect.

OT: Honey berry/Haskap/Blue Honeysuckle

I was expecting an overwhelming positive response to this thread, I'm shocked at the mixed reaction. I could not recommend them enough. Excellent flavor. For me, much easier to grow than blueberries. I got mine last Father's Day from a nursery. 3 Hascap and 3 blueberry. All 3 gallon. They were all planted in the garden with the drip system on, or so I thought. A month later I realized they were never watered. They were mostly dead by the middle of July. I repaired the broken zone and crossed my fingers. I now have 3 sad blueberry bushes and 3 good size honey berries. I had my first ripe berries of the year last weekend! This is with no suplimental water so far this year. Plants are unchanged in size from when planted approx 18x18". Flavor is tart blueberry.

NJ zone 6B

Mine are going into their 3rd season.  Last year only one bloomed, this year both bloomed.  The fruit set was nearly 100%.  I was unable to try any, those who did try them made sure I knew how good they were.  I do not know the varieties off the top of my head.  It will be weeks before I can check to see if the tags are still there.

my experience is opposite of most here.
i haven't got a crop yet but they are attractive bushes.
they need  hardly any water here in the arid southwest n don't mind my climate, from 5 degrees to over 100.
evil bunnies killed most of mine.
there must be great varietal differences.

Rabbits tried to trim my honeyberry bushes to the ground in the winter, but they came back nicely. They will get protection in the future. They seem to grow best when the weather is still relatively cool and mine stops growing once the heat starts. The flowers aren't decorative per say, but they are daint and pretty enough. I wont get any berries this year, since all the flowering branches were eaten by rabbits, but the berries were tart and with good flavors from what I remember last year. If I decide to plant more than the 3 bushes I have, I may try to plant them in areas that gets sun early in the season, but becomes shades during summer when the trees leaf out fully.

Those of you who like them, please tell us what varieties you have.  Thanks.

I went to some local nurseries and they all had only 1 variety, Sugar Mountain Blue.  It had several berries and they had a mild but pleasant taste.  I bought 1 and while reading found out that they need pollinators  :)   I did a lot more reading online and found that some varieties taste terrible until 4 weeks after the outside turns blue.  Once the inside turns from green to blue THEN they're ripe. 

I think its a failure as a commercial crop in my zone. 

In my backyard I have 3 bush and they bear too early -- need bees to pollinate. Few bees around
in late winter. As I write, some berries are ripening and small yeilds. this is either my 4th or 5th season 
growing them. Most likely I will get rid of them. 

Do you know the varieties?  There are early and late blooming types.  Here are some examples:
________________________________________________________________________________________

http://honeyberryusa.com/honeyberry-plants-1.html

Haskap/Honeyberry Bloom Chart

Yup. The cultivar has a lot to do with it. I'm hoping it's not too warm here for them. I went with Maxie & Solo from EL. They're a little cheaper than Honeyberry USA.

I think Honeyberries or Haskaps are the earliest fruiting plant for northern climates. That's why they're desirable. I've heard tons of mixed reviews, but knowing when they ripen is huge.

This is what I have. June will be 1 year. Bought as a 3 gallon plant. Happy with it so far.

https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/lonicera/sugar-mountain-blue-sweetberry-honeysuckle-lonicera-caerulea

Aaron, have you had the fruit yet?  Is there any this year?

Yes, there were maybe 10 ripe berries on each bush a week ago. All fruit was tasty regardless of ripeness stage. There are more berries that are not ripe yet. I know that this variety will ripen into late June in my area.

I was looking for something new and these Honeyberry bushes popped up.  I have 3 each of Blue Moon, Blue Velvet, Honey Bee, Borealis and Tundra plus 5 Sugar Mountain.  I'm in zone 6b but for now I have them all potted and will move them to a protected site for over winter.  They are quite young and I see no berries on any so far.  Right now my main goal is to see that they survive and increase in size.  I will update at the end of the season unless there is something notable before then.

I bought a few thinking they were going to taste more like honey, but it's not even close. The berries are small and sparse on the bush. They taste like a blue berry just before optimal ripeness.  I like blue berries better. These are not good enough to grow a ton of.

The good is they ripen in May in the PNW much earlier than any blueberry I have. I've been eating a few a day here. So the ideal thing would be to have 1 to 2 bushes to extended your blueberry growing season.  I would not grow a hedge of these.

I have Cinderella and Borealis fruiting from plantings last year. Maybe 50 berries on each bush. Getting close to 3 weeks since turning blue but not quite ripe yet. I'm thinking between 3-4 weeks should do it. The berry size varies considerably which I wonder if it has to do with pollination. Anywhere from about 1 cm and thin to 1 inch and pump. I didn't notice a lot of bees around when they flowered. I got some more varieties this year some of which are considered later like Solo and Maxie. Thinking of adding the even later Boreal varieties in a year or two. They are doing considerably better than my blueberries from 2 years ago...still haven't figured them out yet and may replace them. I've read that some varieties produce up to 10 lbs when full grown after 5 years.

Honeyberry USA is a great source. They aren't the cheapest or biggest plants but nice selection, great quality, helpful and responsive staff, and they stand behind their product. Shipping is pretty cheap if you are buying multiple plants.

You do need a pollinator for bigger and more berries.