Honeyberry not fruiting

thevictorian

Hi, I have had honeyberries for 3-4 years now and never had any fruit. I have three of the same variety and was just looking at some other fruit when I saw mention that they "need a pollinating partner of another variety". Does anyone grow honeyberries and know if this is the case? It was not mentioned on the original ad, they were claimed as self fertile. I thought they just cross pollinated each other to improve crops, hence why they were sold in 3's.  

They were originally a gift bought from yougarden which I'm not really a fan of and the info I just saw was from a dedicated fruit seller not a mega commercial company.

Plashing

I have just google it and it states that most honeyberries need a pollinator such has the bumble bees with its long proboscis, they take up to two years before you get any fruit, also you don't need an acid soil and will tolerate some shade.

thevictorian

Thanks. It's not so much what is doing the pollinating (it's planted next to creeping comfrey which is covered in those bees at that time of year) but if it needs a different variety to form fruit. I think everything else is ok just not sure if they will ever have berries without another type.

KeenOnGreen

We planted two Honeyberries at our allotment 3 years ago @thevictorian We did get berries on both, but one plant really struggled, and looked weaker, with more bare branches. We never liked the fruit at all, really bitter and disgusting. We decided to give up, and ripped them out earlier this Summer.

We have Blueberries, which are very productive and really tasty, despite being on clay soil. I would always recommend them over Honeyberries. As long as you incorporate ericaceous soil when planting, only water with rain water, and give them an ericaceous feed each week, we find that they do survive and are productive (even though I will admit ours are not the happiest with the soil conditions).

thevictorian

Thanks. I already have 7 blueberries, now a fair size, because I'm a sucker for fruit. I have to grow them in pots because of our soil and this year rain water has been a real struggle but we've just about managed. Next year they will have another dedicated water butt and I'm tempted to try cranberries as well.
I had goji berries down the allotment and found them to be really horrid but the birds seem to love them so they stay for now.

With all the weather frying stuff and presenting new planting spots I'm trying to focus on next year and fruit is in my first thoughts. I should probably stick with the tried and true but will give the honeyberries another year.

KeenOnGreen

We also tried Goji berries at our allotment, total waste of time @thevictorian We are trying Tayberries for the first time, they are growing very vigorously, but we won't get our first crop until next year. 

We ran out of rainwater for our Blueberries 2 weeks ago. We are having to water them with tap water now, and hoping they survive. Would be gutted to lose them.

ObsessedPlantswoman

My blue berries have survived on tap water for 5 years, so no worries there 🤞🏼

thevictorian

Our tap water here in Norfolk is liquid rock and whilst I know watering with it is ok in an emergency, prolonged watering will cause issues.

I've been looking out for a tayberry and a bosenberry. We have a logan berry which is nice and crops quite a bit before the blackberries. It's pretty vigorous but is thornless, so it doesn't really matter.
We also have some jostaberries and they are nice when mixed with something else but a bit tart on their own.