[RJR_38]

Anyone tried growing these? From what I have read they are similar to blueberries but are less fussy about the soil acidity. I think our soil is slightly acidic but not necessarily enough for blueberries so this MIT be a good alternative. It seems I would also need at least 2 to aid pollination.

Anyone got any experience about taste or yield?

[Growing4mykids]

Have a friend that grew these 2 years ago, gave him a good harvest but he was'nt impressed with the flavour, think he was swayed by the name though, but, it's individual taste, so, give them a go 

[Trillium]

The taste is supposed to resemble wild blueberries, which are a bit tart to start with, unlike commercial blueberries bred for size and sweetness. The honeyberry is related to the honeysuckle family, hence, honeyberries as one name among others. I have 2 plants growing in my garden but they're not yet mature enough to bear fruit.

The beauty of honeyberries is that they're hardy to -50 so anyone can grow them. Only thing they don't like is wet soil so good drainage is really important for them. They're very resistant to diseases and pests.

Another benefit is that they're one of the earliest of fruits ripening around the same time as strawberries so if your other fruits are slow or having a bad year, you at least got a good crop of honeyberries.

This should answer any other questions you might have: LINK

[RJR_38]

Thanks for that. I think that the companies selling them as 'the taste of blueberries' forgot to add in the wild part as they definitely taste very different to the more cultivated blueberries. The site you gave had a lot of good information in one place that I have managed to find spread out in other sites. I'm not so sure it is quite what we were after so back to the drawing board!

[Asherweef]

I was looking to buy a pair from a well-known nursery but never did for lack of funds. My main reason is the name though... Sounds lovely!

"What's that your growing there?"

"Just my honeyberries!"

[carlrmj]

   I've got three honeyberry bushes ,they are three years old ,about three foot tall ,but no fruit yet . 

[RJR_38]

   I've got three honeyberry bushes ,they are three years old ,about three foot tall ,but no fruit yet .

Seems to be a common theme from what I have read...
They are certainly not going to be taking up precious space in my fruit cage!

[wasthiswise]

Apparently it helps to have 2+ planted close by as they are not fully self pollinating.

[Asherweef]

Apparently it helps to have 2+ planted close by as they are not fully self pollinating.

I don't think that they're self pollinating at all.

[Squibbs]

I only have one and it bore fruit - so it must be partially self fertile at least.

I wasn't too sure if I liked them or not - hopefully there will be a bigger crop next year

[BacktoBasics]

i have three of them close together and they are in their first year this year, a reasonable size and have doubled in size this year. we had a few handfulls of the berries and they were delicious but it can be tricky to tell when they are ripe. i would say they are well worth growing

[Trillium]

for those with questions, if you check out the link I posted earlier you'll find answers to many questions.

One point in particular from the above article: Honeyberries require cross pollination because the male and female reproductive organs develop at different times, so you need at least 1 to 5 different varieties for production of berries. 

With one bush you'll get some cropping but not the maximum attainable with other bushes close by. Also, it seems there are different varieties and sweetness available. Where I live there seems to be only one variety available as a male/female plant combo. I know this exists with sea buckthorn and kiwis but didn't realize honeyberries also came that way.