Blue Hokkaido™ Honeyberry
Lonicera caerulea 'Blue Hokkaido'™
This late-blooming honeyberry, a particularly good variety for growers that experience variable springtime weather, will offer your tastebuds a quick trip to East Asia! Very popular in Japan, where it can bloom up to 2 months later than the early-blooming varieties; this means more pollinators are flying and better fruit set. The large, long berries are firm and crisp, perfectly ripe when the inner flesh is as dark blue/purple as the vivid skin color. The flavor is like a blueberry with a hint of blackberry - great for cold region growers that don't have the acid soil that blueberries require. The deciduous, upright bushes will be spangled with hundreds of soft, icy yellow trumpet blossoms in late spring.
Disease-resistant Blue Hokkaido™ needs a late-blooming pollinizer, like Blue Pagoda™, Blue Velvet, Blue Moon, or Blue Pacific, and will produce reliably in the Pacific Northwest in mid-late May. This attractive, upright bush grows quickly to about 4'-5' tall and wide. Plants prefer full sun in cooler climates, and partial shade in warmer locations, and well-drained soil. Little pruning is required: just remove overlapping branches. USDA Zones 2-8.