Lonicera caerulea
Honeyberry is hardy to -20°C or colder, but its flowers open in late winter with far less of that hardiness to spare. The real risk isn't the plant, it's the blossom.
Also sold as haskap, honeyberry is a form of edible honeysuckle, Lonicera caerulea. Not every honeysuckle berry is safe to eat; many are potentially harmful, so plant a named honeyberry or haskap cultivarA plant variety that arose or was bred under cultivation and is kept true by deliberate propagation, rather than a naturally occurring wild species. Full definition → rather than any garden honeysuckle. The fruit tastes and looks similar to a blueberry, eaten fresh or used in jams and jellies. It is already grown commercially in Scotland: the James Hutton Institute reports eight growers with about 72 acres of orchards, harvesting around the end of June and the beginning of July.
Site and soil
Full sun ripens the wood and gives the best yield, though light shade can mean fewer aphids. Almost any well-drained soil suits it, acid or alkaline included. Plant in spring, once frost risk has passed, giving the shrub a full summer to establish. Space plants 1.5-2.5m apart, or as little as 0.5-1m for a compact cultivar like Morena.
Pollination
Plant two or more shrubs for cross-pollinationPollen moving from one plant to a different, compatible variety, needed for fruit to set on any variety that isn't self-fertile. Full definition → and fruit set. Flowering runs from late winter to very early spring, a window with little pollinating insect activity, so it's worth hand-pollinating to improve yield rather than leaving it to chance: lightly brush over the open flowers with a small, soft paintbrush. Stem hardiness is put at -20°C by the James Hutton Institute and -40°C in the RHS quick facts, but the flowers themselves tolerate only -7°C, which is exactly why a hard late frost at flowering time matters far more than a cold winter.
Care
A mulchA layer of material spread over the soil around plants to suppress weeds, retain moisture, and improve soil structure as it breaks down. Full definition → of well-composted organic matter helps retain moisture. A yearly spring application of a balanced fertiliser, such as blood, fish and bone, is all the feeding they need, and too much feed gives lush green growth and few flowers and fruit.
Pruning
Keep pruning to a minimum for the first three years, removing only dead, weak or damaged stems. Once established, prune in early to mid-summer, straight after harvesting: remove straggly, weak or damaged growth, thin out overcrowded shoots, and cut up to a fifth of the older stems to ground level. Removing young shoot tips encourages more flowering side shoots.
Varieties
No named honeyberry cultivar carries an AGMThe RHS's Award of Garden Merit: a UK-wide trials award for reliable performance, not a Scotland-specific recommendation. Full definition →. Zojka and Morena are both named cultivars of the same botanical variety, Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica.
★ Our pick for Scotland
Zojka
Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica · H7The RHS's H1a–H7 scale for how much cold a plant can survive outdoors, H1a being tender indoor-only and H7 hardy anywhere in the UK. Full definition → · very heavy crops
Vigorous, with very heavy crops of large, very sweet berries.
Why this one: Zojka is vigorous with very heavy crops of large, dark blue berries with very sweet flesh. Honeyberry takes 5-10 years to reach full size, so a cultivar that crops heavily once established is worth the wait.
Also worth considering
Morena
Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica · H7 · compact
Spreads just 0.5-1m against Zojka's 1-1.5m, with the same H7 rating and sweet flesh. The choice where space decides.
Lonicera caerulea var. edulis
H7 · sweet burgundy-red flesh
The other botanical variety rated among the best eating forms, useful where a named kamtschatica cultivar isn't available from a supplier.
Best Honeyberry Varieties for Scotland → compares all named honeyberry varieties head-to-head, with the practical detail that doesn't fit in a summary card.
Harvesting
Ready late spring to early summer. Berries turn blue with a white bloom before they're ripe, so check the flesh too: cut one open and look for purple-red or burgundy-red colour, since green flesh under a blue skin is still very sour. The fruit is soft and ripens together, so freeze surplus quickly. A first small crop can take up to two years, building toward a mature yield of around 6kg as the shrub reaches full size over 5-10 years, a slow build compared with most fruit.
Common problems
Honeyberry doesn't generally suffer badly from pests and diseases, though the named cultivars may be susceptible to a few.
- Honeysuckle aphids distort new growth and shoots; light shade can reduce the risk.
- Powdery mildew can affect leaves and shoots.
- Glasshouse whitefly can turn up on this shrub despite it being grown outdoors, not under cover.
See more problems
- Thrips cause fine silvery mottling on leaves.
- Fungal leaf spot causes small discoloured patches on leaves.
- Silver leaf causes leaves to take on a silvery sheen; prune out and destroy affected wood.
- Honey fungus is a rare but serious root disease with no cure; remove and destroy an affected plant.
Common questions
Is honeyberry the same thing as haskap?
Yes, two names for the same plant, Lonicera caerulea. Not every honeysuckle berry is safe to eat, though: many are potentially harmful, so buy a named honeyberry or haskap cultivar rather than assuming any garden honeysuckle's berries are edible.
Do I need more than one plant to get fruit?
Yes: plant two or more shrubs for cross-pollination and fruit set. Honeyberries are best planted in pairs or groups, and a single plant may not fruit. See also: Honeyberry Myths →
If it's hardy to -40°C, what's the real risk in a Scottish garden?
The blossom. The plant tolerates down to -20°C but the flowers only down to about -7°C, so a harder frost or a prolonged freeze can still damage open blossom. FleeceA lightweight, breathable fabric laid or draped over plants to trap a little warmth and keep off frost, wind and some flying pests. Full definition → the bush overnight in a colder-than-usual snap during flowering. See also: Honeyberry Myths →
How do I know a honeyberry is properly ripe, not just blue?
Cut one open: the skin turns blue before the flesh finishes ripening, so check the flesh is purple-red inside before picking the rest, since green flesh is very sour. See also: Honeyberry Myths →
Sources
Show the 6 sources
- RHS: what honeyberry is (a form of Lonicera caerulea, also called blue or edible honeysuckle, tasting similar to a blueberry), the safety warning that not all honeysuckle berries are edible, site and soil, planting timing, pollination (plant two or more, hand-pollination with a soft paintbrush given the winter/early-spring flowering window), mulching, feeding, pruning in the first three years and once established, ripeness check by cutting a berry open, yield, the wait of up to two years for a first crop, the two best eating botanical varieties, and the general pest/disease picture
- RHS: H7 hardiness, ultimate height and spread, 5-10 year maturity timeline, pollination confirmation
- RHS: var. edulis: winter flowering window, H7, fruit size and colour, burgundy-red sweet flesh
- RHS: Morena: compact 0.5-1m spread, H7, winter flowering, large sweet fruit, the fuller named-pest list (honeysuckle aphids, thrips, glasshouse whitefly, powdery mildews, fungal leaf spot, silver leaf, honey fungus), pruning detail
- RHS: Zojka: vigorous habit, H7, winter flowering, very heavy crops of large, very sweet fruit
- James Hutton Institute: 'Scotland's new superfruit' framing; plants tolerate down to -20C and flowers down to -7C (the RHS quick facts give -40C for the plant); the Scottish Honeyberry Growers Cooperative, with eight growers and about 72 acres of orchards; fruit harvested at the end of June and beginning of July, picked all at once and frozen quickly