Description
Honeyberry fruit size has been the species’ quiet limitation. The Russian-derived cultivars and the first Saskatchewan releases crop well and the berries are small, so picking is slow and a bowl takes a while to fill. Boreal Blizzard, released by the University of Saskatchewan in 2016, is the answer to that: 2.8 to 3.9 grams a berry, more than double ‘Tundra’ or ‘Borealis’ and roughly three times the largest cultivars in the program’s first decade of trials.
Weight in a honeyberry usually means water, and this is where Blizzard is unusual. The berries are slightly elongated, and they are meaty and heavy through the middle with almost no air pocket, so the size is fruit rather than volume. They are also firmer than ‘Indigo Gem’, which is the cultivar commercial growers already machine harvest, so the fruit handles well for something this big. Picking is faster for the obvious reason.
The plant is tall and upright with strong branches, running to roughly 5 to 6.5 ft, and it crops heavily. Fruit comes in early to mid July, later than the Indigo series, and it will hang for a few days beyond first colour and sweeten as it does. Like every honeyberry it needs a genetically different partner with overlapping bloom, and ‘Boreal Beast’ is the one released to do that job for it.
Overview
- University of Saskatchewan release, 2016, bred by Bob Bors.
- Largest-fruited honeyberry, 2.8 to 3.9 grams.
- Berries slightly elongated, meaty and dense.
- Firmer than ‘Indigo Gem’.
- Vigorous and heavy cropping.
- Tall, upright, bushy habit with strong branches.
- Ripens early to mid July, later than the Indigo series.
- Hardy to Zone 2a, with good resistance to powdery mildew.
- Requires a pollination partner; ‘Boreal Beast’.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Lonicera caerulea ‘Boreal Blizzard’
Site and Soil: Full sun, six hours or more; drained soil across a wide pH range, roughly 5.5 to 8.0, with no acidification needed
Hardiness: Hardy to Zone 2a
Size at Maturity: Roughly 5 to 6.5 ft, tall and upright with strong branching
Fruit: 2.8 to 3.9 grams, slightly elongated, dense and meaty with almost no internal air pocket; firmer than ‘Indigo Gem’
Ripening Time: Early to mid July, later than the Indigo series, and it will hang and sweeten for a few days past first colour
Pollination: Not self-fertile. ‘Boreal Beast’ blooms across its window and is the recommended partner; ‘Boreal Beauty’ also overlaps
Pests & Diseases: Good resistance to powdery mildew in Canadian growing regions
Harvest Note: Birds strip ripe honeyberry quickly; netting goes on before the fruit colours
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Berry size is the trait that decides whether anyone actually keeps picking a honeyberry patch, and on this one a handful is a handful; the tradeoff is that the fruit reads mild straight off the bush, so give it the extra days after first colour rather than judging it on the first pick.
- Regional Insight: The Boreal releases bloom later than ‘Tundra’ and the Indigo series, which is an advantage in the maritime Northwest where the earliest honeyberry flowers can open ahead of the insects that would pollinate them; across the northern plains, the Upper Midwest and the Northeast the later bloom mostly buys frost insurance rather than pollination.
- Honeyberry and haskap are the same plant, and the Saskatchewan releases are usually sold under the haskap name.
- Explore more honeyberries in our collection: Honeyberries
