North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lon Rombough <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

This is another advantage of Haskap - it blooms much later than the Siberian material, giving more chances for there to be some insects out that will pollinate it.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
On Jan 6, 2005, at 8:12 AM, Dean Kreutzer wrote:

Hello all,

I have been able to try some of the latest edible honeysuckles (Honeyberry is a term coined by One Green World) from Russia.  I managed to cross pollinate a few in the very cool spring this year and tried the fruit.  The shape varies with the cultivar, but generally resemble a long cylinder 1" long x 1/4" wide.  It has the bloom like a blueberry, and some cutlivars have the taste and texture as well.  A couple cultivars were not that good, in my opinion, but some were very good.  I am definately going to be growing some cultivars in the future.

A couple important factors is that the flowers can easily take 20F while in full bloom, without damage and the fruit ripens a couple of weeks earlier than strawberries; which is June, up here.  They do have seeds, but are very small.

One other note is that there are at least 2 species, one grown in Siberia, and one in Japan.  I grow the species from Siberia, which is more hardy and has smaller fruit.  These should be quite adapted to my climate up here, but only time will tell.

Dean Kreutzer
www.overthehillorchards.ca
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
USDA zone 3
-36F two nights ago