Other Names:  Honeyberry; Bearberry Honeysuckle

Description:

An interesting hardy background or massing shrub with clean foliage and powdery blue berries which are edible; dense and fairly compact growing habit, good for general shrub use where a tough performer is required

Edible Qualities

Sweetberry Honeysuckle is a medium-sized shrub that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces blue round berries which are usually ready for picking from late spring to early summer. The berries have a sweet taste.

The berries are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Preserves

Features & Attributes

Sweetberry Honeysuckle features subtle creamy white flowers along the branches in mid spring. It has green deciduous foliage. The narrow leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color. It produces blue berries in early summer.

This is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Sweetberry Honeysuckle is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Sweetberry Honeysuckle will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. While it is considered to be somewhat self-pollinating, it tends to set heavier quantities of fruit with a different variety of the same species growing nearby.

This shrub can be integrated into a landscape or flower garden by creative gardeners, but is usually grown in a designated edibles garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America.