How to Grow Honeyberry
Honeyberry At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Berry
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -45°C
Plant Family
Caprifoliaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Buy two different varieties that flower at the same time, since honeyberries need a partner to make fruit. Plant them in early spring, about 3 weeks before your last frost, 1.2 m apart, at the same depth they grew in the pot. Water them well every week for the first summer.
Honeyberry, also called haskap, is one of the toughest fruits there is, hardy to about -45°C (-49°F), and the first fruit to ripen each year, even before strawberries. Plants start giving fruit about 3 years after planting.
When To Start
Honeyberry likes cool weather. Sow it in early spring, as soon as the ground can be worked.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Honeyberry?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Honeyberry Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Honeyberry Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Plant two honeyberry varieties so they pollinate each other
3 weeks before your last frost
Lightly prune honeyberry, removing a few old stems
45 days before your last frost· every year· optional
Look for ripe honeyberries: purple inside, not just blue
45 days after your last frost· every year
Water your new honeyberry plants well while they settle in. Deep and slow is best.
About 1 days after you plant it
Hello! Water your honeyberries well while they settle in, and do not let the soil dry out.
About 30 days after you plant it
Nice going! Spread mulch around the base to keep weeds down and the roots cool.
About 90 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Honeyberry's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
120 cm
Plant Spacing
180 cm
Row Spacing
Vertical Growing
No.
Succession Planting
No.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Give honeyberry full sun for the biggest crops, though it handles a little shade.
- 2Mix compost into the planting hole and spread more around the plant each spring.
- 3Keep the soil evenly moist, especially while the fruit is forming, and spread mulch to hold the water in.
- 4A layer of compost or worm castings each spring is all the feeding it needs.
- 5Once the plant is a few years old, prune lightly in late winter, cutting a few of the oldest, thickest stems out at the base.
- 6Birds find the berries first, so cover the bushes with a net as soon as they turn blue.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
150 cm
Mature Height
120 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
14 days
When to Pick
Pick when berries are blue THROUGH (cut one to check): early summer
How to Harvest
- 1Honeyberries turn blue on the outside before they are ripe, so cut one open first.
- 2Pick only when the inside is purple all the way through and the berry tastes sweet, usually a week or two after it turns blue.
- 3Hold a tray or sheet under the bush and shake the branches gently, and the ripe berries fall off.
- 4Eat them fresh, or freeze them on a tray and keep them in bags.
- 5They make great jam, smoothies and pies.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
Seed Production
Still have a question?
Ask your coach about your honeyberry.
This page covers what we thought to write down. Your honeyberry will do something it never mentions, and that is the day a coach beats a guide. Ask Coach Lumen one question right now, free, no account.
