GardenPerennial Berry · zones 2–7 · 17 varieties
Honeyberry
Lonicera caerulea
Caprifoliaceae — the same plant family as mâche. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea) is a perennial berry for USDA zones 2–7. It wants full sun and pH 5.5–8 soil, with about 1–1.5 in of water weekly. First real harvest comes in 1–3 yr. Watch for birds and powdery mildew. Below: its full sourced profile from 5 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 2–7
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 5.5–8
- Soil texture
- Well drained, High organic matter
- Frost tolerance
- Very hardy
No published figure for the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 3–6 ft
- Mature spread
- 4–6 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderateest
- Spacing in row
- 36–48 in
- Between rows
- 72–120 in
- Planting depth
- 1–3 in
- Container size
- 15–25 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is betterest
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Cutting, Layering
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1–1.5 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Establishment, Fruit set, Ripeningest
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Years to first harvest
- 1–3 yr
- Pollination
- Needs pollinizer
- Harvest cues
- Fruit coloring
- Open blossoms hold to
- 17–20 °F
There is no line here for how much winter cold it needs, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Edible parts per source: fruit.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | Size | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | Saskatchewan | — | University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program describes this asgives a heavy crop | |||
| Berry Blue | Japanese Russian | Upright | — | Blue | ||
| Blue Belle | Japanese Russian | Spreading | — | Blue | ||
| Blue Moon | Japanese Russian | Spreading | — | Blue | ||
| Boreal Beast | Saskatchewan | — | ||||
| Boreal Beauty | Saskatchewan | — | University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program describes this asgives a heavy crop | |||
| Borealis | Saskatchewan | — | Large | |||
| Duet | Polish | — | Purple | |||
| Giant's Heart | Japanese Russian | — | Blue | Large | ||
| Honey Bee | Saskatchewan | — | University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program describes this asgives a heavy crop | |||
| Indigo Gem | Saskatchewan | Compact | — | Blue | One Green World describes this asgives a heavy crop | |
| Indigo Treat | Saskatchewan | Upright | — | |||
| Indigo Yum | Saskatchewan | — | ||||
| Tundra | Saskatchewan | — | University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program describes this asgives a heavy crop | |||
| Wojtek | Polish | — | Agroforestry Research Trust describes this asgives a heavy crop | |||
| Yezberry Maxie | Japanese Russian | — | Blue | Large | ||
| Yezberry Solo | Japanese Russian | Compact | — | Blue |
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center
- Plants For A Future
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
- Utah State University Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 17 of the 22 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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