Three years ago, we planted four bare root Haskaps plants. These were from the Hardy tree nursery in Quebec. Two were Boreal Beast and two were Boreal Beauty. The next spring we bought four more plants from Canadian Tire that were already one year plants. Two of these were Polar Jewel and two Berry Blue. Last year we got 20 more bushes from our County’s shelterbelt program. These were all either Aurora or Indigo. After three years, we have a total of 28 healthy Haskap plants and six different varieties. To successfully pollinate the plants, you need to have at least two different varieties.
Photo above from May 4 this year. Bottom photo is the same spot but reversed taken June 19.
Our three year old plants all produced flowers this year. The orange striped bumblebees were hard at work going from flower to flower in May. The Haskaps berries form as green berries. They turn red, then dark purple and finally a lighter bluish colour. A purple berry is not ready and can take 1-2 weeks to turn light blue. Picking them too soon will result in a tart tasting Haskap.
The “ripe” berry in the photo does look more blue against the green of the plant.
I picked about two cups of berries on Thursday. I wanted to wait a few days longer but I realized that the riper berries would just go to the birds…literally.
I was only out in the haskap patch for about a half hour. In that time I was visited by a pair of robins, two Eastern Kingbirds and three Cedar Waxwings. The Cedar Waxwings crawl right into the bush and you’d never know they were there except for their telltale buzzing/purring sound.
That afternoon I took some tomato cages and foil pie plates to create some shiny noise makers. It doesn’t completely deter the birds but they don’t linger on the bushes. It is more a grab and go situation now.
We won’t make more of an effort to combat the birds for this year. I should get enough berries for a batch of jam. Next year, if the number of birds remains the same, we will have more than enough berries for everyone as all 28 bushes should produce berries. If more birds take notice, we will create some sort of netting over the bushes at least for the month or so of berries ripening.
It is apparently easy to propagate Haskap plants. You take a six inch cutting of new growth, plop it into soil in a pot and three weeks later you have roots forming. I am trying this process with the Boreal Beast and Berry Blue varieties. If it works, we might add more bushes in other spots. Apparently they are a deer and moose resistant plant.
Grwoing any kind of plant outdoors can be a battle with insects, animals or birds but it is worth the struggle. Haskaps are wonderfully tasting, a cross between a blueberry and raspberry, with a soft skin. Why do you think the birds like them so much?
I am curious , how much taller can they grow?