About

Lonicera caerulea, commonly known as honeyberry or by various honeysuckle names, is a non-climbing honeysuckle native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere regions of North America, Europe, and Asia.

The plant or its fruit has also come to be called haskap, derived from its name in the language of the native Ainu people of Hokkaido, Japan.

How to grow it

The indigenous peoples of eastern Russia, northern Japan, and northern China have long harvested the wild berries, but cultivation efforts are relatively recent. Research into commercial cultivation improved in Hokkaido, Japan in the 1970s. The plant is mostly unknown in the Western world, even though some varieties grow in Canada and northern United States. Haskap variety edulis has been used frequently in breeding efforts, but other varieties have been bred with it to increase productivity and flavor. In several haskap breeding programs, the variety emphyllocalyx has been the dominant one used. In recent years, a new programme has aimed at growing honeyberries commercially in Scotland (with a similar climate to Northern Japan) at farms in Duns, Angus, Tayside, Perth and Fife.

Where it grows

The species is circumpolar, primarily found in or near wetlands of boreal forests in heavy peat soils of North America, Europe, and Asia. It also can be found in high-calcium soils, in mountains, and along the coasts of northeastern Asia and northwestern North America.

Other Lonicera plants

Fragrant Grove Honeysuckle · Etruscan honeysuckle · Honeysuckle · Lonicera hildebrandiana · Pink honeysuckle · Japanese honeysuckle · Amur honeysuckle · Morrow's honeysuckle · Box honeysuckle · European honeysuckle · Lonicera × purpusii · Trumpet honeysuckle