Haskaps and Honeyberries: Summer Field Notes

haskaps, seedling from aurora. here the seed was stratified feb through march and then planted in the greenhouse in early april. just about ready to divide up into their own pots. The seedlings won't be exactly the same a aurora, which is a large fruiting very upright bush, but similar and they have the advantage that they'll all be able to cross pollinate.

indigo gem haskap, here a mature bush in a shady spot shows its growth habbit - a bit sprawling. some haskaps like to grow more upright and tall, this one is good if want on cover an area. I do trim it for cuttings and that keeps it a bit smaller, and if you grow it in full sun it's going to be larger and have more fruit. this one enjoys being in this forest context, in nearly full shade.

haskap upick, old bushes gallons of fruit.

elderberries, haskaps ready to pot up. after about a month under mist just about all of the cuttings we did in june are rooting, I try and wait under they're at a medium to heavy rooting stage, which for me is a decent mass of roots 1/2 - 1" long. this is the 4th year I've done this propagation run with the timed mist and keeping notes helps, every species and cultivar is slightly different so there are adjustments to the hormones, cutting size and when you take them, if they need bottom heat, how fast they root, and how sensitive the plants are when hardening off. nothing like moving a tray of cuttings outside and they all die on the first hot day, or they just won't resume growth and die over the winter. my point is you have to murder a lot of cuttings to get some practice ;) this year I'm actually doing less than last year, but using larger pots and more dialed in process with lessons learned to try and get larger plants by fall, so they all pass the grade and are ready to send out in our fall sale and then the rest in the spring.

aurora haskaps. consistently quite large, super tasty off the bush. picking them at this perfectly ripe stage they're very similar to a blueberry.

haskaps heavily rooted at about 4 weeks

trimming up haskap cuttings, this guy was hiding in the leaves. catch and release caterpillar.

haskap, currant, gooseberry cuttings under mist.

haskap starting some new leaves after rooting. This is a good result, if they can grow a bit through august then harden off in september.

had a great visit at u of sask to pick up propagation material. orchards of cherries and haskaps and some behind the scenes in the fruit breeding program. happy to help support them by propagating some of the boreal series haskap and cherries, we’ll be growing boreal beast, beauty, blizzard, aurora haskap and juliette, d’artagnan cherry.

haskaps just starting to ripen, these are indigo gem and indigio treat. starting the boreal series ones next, excited to get those going, u of sask has offered to provide some cuttings so travelling next week. #haskap

haskaps hardened off and going in the ground. these rooted a couple of weeks ago and had some part shade and gradually less mist, last move is into full sun a few days. if the leaves freak out and curl up and go brown then it was too fast, so slowly is better. signs of new leaf growth are good, the new ones will handle hot and dry full sun. #propagation #haskap #honeyberry

made it to the u of Sask plant sale this afternoon. Cool to see some of the campus and their breeding program for cold hardy haskaps and cherries, and great to meet Bob Bors head of the fruit program

First haskaps starting to ripen. #honeyberry #haskap

haskhaps are getting ripe #haskapberry #honeyberry