How to Grow the Honeyberry

A newer entry to American's edible landscapes, honeyberry originates from Russia. It's become a more familiar presence in stateside gardens since the fall of the Soviet Union opened up agricultural trade channels. Also known as edible honeysuckle, honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea) thrives in warm to very cold climates, in USDA plant hardiness zones 2 to 8. The deep blue-black berries look like elongated blueberries and taste similar, with undertones of raspberry and black currant. Deciduous, these plants grow up to 7-feet high and wide and display brightly colored foliage in autumn. Use honeyberry to make attractive edible hedges -- or combine them with other edibles and flowering perennials in a large group planting.

Instructions

- 1
  Select two or more varieties of honeyberry that have the same or overlapping bloom times to ensure adequate pollination for fruit production. New varieties, including early- and late-season bloomers, are introduced to the home-garden market routinely, so double-check the labels to verify the plants' flowering times.
- 2
  Prepare the planting area in a sunny to partially shaded part of the garden. The area should have well-drained soil, but honeyberries can adapt to grow in clay soil when it's well supplemented with compost.
- 3
  Dig a hole 8 to 10 inches deep and 2 to 2 ½ feet wide. Fill the hole to within 3 inches of ground level, alternating with 1-inch layers of garden soil and compost.
- 4
  Soak the honeyberry plants with a garden hose and let them sit for at least two hours to loosen the soil in the pot. Run water into the planting holes and let them sit also, to let the soil and compost settle.
- 5
  Tug each honeyberry plant gently out of its pot. Separate the roots and fan them out as you set the plant into its designated hole.
- 6
  Push a 1-inch-thick layer of dirt into the hole to cover the roots. Add a 1-inch-thick layer of compost to the hole. Fill the remaining space around the plant's base with dirt, tamping it down firmly.
- 7
  Water the honeyberry plants promptly after getting them positioned in the ground. Continue watering the plants frequently to keep the surrounding soil moist through the first three years as the plants become established.
- 8
  Spread a 2- to 3-inch-thick layer of mulch around each plant to retain moisture in the soil and protect the roots, which grow near the surface. Replenish the mulch layer routinely with grass clippings, straw and shredded leaves.
- 9
  Fertilize the honeyberry plants early each spring as the leaves begin to emerge. Pull back the mulch from around each plant's base, add a 1-inch-thick layer of aged manure, then cover the area again with mulch.
- 10
  Prune the bushes only to remove damaged limbs during the first year or two of growth. Thereafter, remove about 20 percent of the branches, thinning out the largest branches to reinvigorate the bushes.

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