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Honeyberry (Bundle of 4) | Spring 2027
$139.99
Reliable shipping
Flexible returns
Ripening
Will it finish before your first hard freeze?
Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)
Disease resistanceResists 1 of 1
- 4 Powdery mildew : Resistant, 4 of 5
Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.
See it on our berry disease chart (opens in a new tab)At a glance: Honeyberry is a honeyberry shrub rated hardy to zone 2 in our ratings (winters to -50°F), and not self-fertile, so it needs a different variety nearby as a pollenizer.
| Also called | Haskap, blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea) |
|---|---|
| Hardy to | Zone 2 to 7. A bare number means the whole of zone 2, colder half included (winters to -50°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator. |
| Chill hours | About 1,000 hours (750 to 1,200). From published figures. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources. |
| Pollination | Needs Cross-Pollination. Bloom group 3 of 7 (early-mid), very early spring here. Plant the whole bundle together: Aurora needs Tundra nearby to set fruit. If you add more honeyberries later, pick early-to-mid bloomers like Borealis or Indigo types, not the late Boreal series. Pollination Charts. |
| Good for | Fresh eating (8/10), canning and freezing (8/10), pies and baking (7/10), jams and jellies (7/10), sauce and butter (7/10), juice and sweet cider (6/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists. |
| Deer | Rarely bothered by deer. |
| What you get | Bare root, 3 Aurora and 1 Tundra. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out. |
Overview
Since we tried a fresh Aurora Honeyberry during Montana State’s Western Ag. Research Center taste testing in July of 2019, we knew we had to grow it. Aurora consistently produces large berries, is easy to harvest, and demonstrates excellent flavor. Aurora is hardy to below -50°F. That said, a friend grows them in the Yukon, where temperatures dip below -65°F! He’s not so sure of the variety, but the point is, they’re tough and very well may grow in such extremes.
Pollination
Our pollenizer for the Aurora is Tundra, which we have found to be extremely reliable. The flavor is almost as good as Aurora, although the berry size is slightly smaller and the berries are a hint more tart. They are however, precocious and hardy. Easily hardy to at least -50F, which we must depend on in cold climates if we want Aurora to survive and do well.
Bundle & Planting Instructions
These honeyberries come in a bundle of 4, 3 Aurora and 1 pollenizer, Tundra. They must be planted together for pollination.
Plant Size
These honeyberries are currently our larger grade and going on their fourth year.
Photos: “Haskap (honeyberry)” by karen_hine, via Flickr, public domain; “Жимолость голубая ягоды Саратов” by ИринаЯ, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; “Blooming Lonicera caerulea” by WildBoar, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain; “Lonicera caerulea 2017” by Max071086, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Questions we get about Honeyberry
Does Honeyberry need a pollenizer?
Yes. Honeyberry needs pollen from a different variety that blooms at about the same time. Plant the whole bundle together: Aurora needs Tundra nearby to set fruit. If you add more honeyberries later, pick early-to-mid bloomers like Borealis or Indigo types, not the late Boreal series.
How cold hardy is Honeyberry?
We rate Honeyberry hardy to zone 2, which means winters down to about -50°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.
How many chill hours does Honeyberry need?
About 1,000 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 750 and 1,200. That comes from published figures for this variety. Aurora needs roughly 1,000 to 1,200 chill hours. Once that's met, haskaps wake fast in warm spells, so frost can catch early blooms. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.
What is Honeyberry good for?
Our top use scores for Honeyberry are fresh eating (8/10), canning and freezing (8/10), pies and baking (7/10), jams and jellies (7/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.
Is Honeyberry disease resistant?
Yes. It's resistant to powdery mildew. Our berry disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.
Will deer eat Honeyberry?
Rarely. Deer seldom bother Honeyberry, though a hungry winter deer will try almost anything.
What arrives, and when does Honeyberry ship?
A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. Sizes offered: 3 Aurora and 1 Tundra. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.