Note: Each section on this page contains multiple topics. Click on the tabs for more information.
- Haskaps (Lonicera caerulea) are a type of of edible honeysuckle bred by Dr. Bob Bors at the University of Saskatchewan Fruit program. They are hardy to Zones 1 - 4.
- Haskap berries are a dark blue/purple colour and come in a wide array of roundish shapes. The flavour description is highly subjective but is most commonly described as a blueberry-raspberry combination.
- These small shrubs produce small, yellow, tubular flowers in early May with the fruit ready to harvest in late June to early July. It is the first thing to flower in the spring, as well as the first fruit to ripen.
- Haskap plants are self-incompatible so they need another haskap of a different variety that blooms at the same time for cross-pollination.
- A small but well-behaved shrub, haskaps are easy to grow and work well in urban yards.
- Haskaps are native to northern boreal forests in Asia, Europe, and North America. Siberian haskap seeds were carried by birds to northern Japan.
- Haskap is the name given to these berries by the ancient Japanese people of Northern Japan called the Ainu where haskaps grow and means “berry of long life and good vision”.
- Wild haskaps are found throughout Canada except British Columbia and Yukon.
- Cultivated haskaps were first introduced to Canada in the 1950’s in Beaver Lodge, Alberta but were bitter and unpalatable.
- The University of Saskatchewan started collecting haskap germplasm (plants collected for breeding and research) in 1997. The breeding program began in 2002 with the goal of developing good tasting fruit that can be harvested mechanically. Other breeding goals are disease resistance, good plant vigor and nutrition such as antioxidants.
- The flowers, shoots, leaves, and berries have all been used for medicinal purposes.
Sources:
‘About Haskap’. Haskap Canada Association
Bors, Bob, et al. Haskap Breeding (Poster). 2011
Haskap nutritional information coming soon!
The Canadian Food Guide recommends that roughly half of the food on your plate should be fruits and vegetables.
Selecting your shrub
- Haskaps are small shrubs that grow about 1.2 - 2 meters (4'-7') tall and about 1.2 meters (4') wide.
- Haskap shrubs are rounded in form, well behaved and do not tend to sucker.
- They have a wide but shallow root system.
- This plant produces small, yellow tubular flowers in early May with the fruit ready to harvest in late June early July. It is the first thing to flower in the spring, as well as the first fruit to ripen.
- Haskaps begin blooming and producing fruit in as little as one year after planting, although they might only produce a small number of berries in that first year. As they grow larger, fruit production will increase.
This chart lists haskap cultivars, most of which were bred by Dr. Bob Bors at the University of Saskatchewan fruit program.
Please note that haskap plants are self-incompatible so they need another haskap of a different variety for cross-pollination. Both haskaps also need to bloom at the same time, so you will need at least two plants for the home garden. See the "Pollination" tab for more information.
| Cultivar | Berry size | Flavour | Shrub size | Other |
| Tundra | 1.49 grams | Sweet/tart | average |
Firm fruit, U of S |
| Borealis | 1.62 grams | Sweet/tangy | average | Good for fresh eating, U of S |
| Indigo Treat | 1.41 grams | Sweet | average | Similar to Tundra, U of S |
| Indigo Gem | 1.30 grams | Sweet/tangy | average | Slightly chewy texture, U of S |
| Indigo Yum | 1.29 grams | Tangy/sweet | average | May be hard to find, U of S |
| Aurora | 2.17 grams | Sweet | large | Fast growing, U of S |
| Honeybee | 1.9 grams | Tart | large | Hangs on to its fruit, U of S |
|
Blue Bell Berry Blue Cinerella |
0.7 - 0.9 grams | Tart/sweet | large | Russian cultivars, ripen earliest |
Haskap shrubs are widely available at greenhouses throughout the prairies. U of S cultivars are available from licensed propagators on this list: Distributors of USask fruit program plants
See 'Recommended Cultivars for Eating' tab.
Haskaps have a nice rounded form and look great in a mulched shrub or perennial flower border. They can also be used as a short hedge in the home yard.
Haskaps are hardy to Zone 1 and do well in northern gardens.
See our preservation section for more videos.
Planting haskaps
Haskaps do best full sun to thrive. They can grow in part sun, but you will get less fruit. They are not suited to part shade or very shady conditions.
They are tolerant of most soils, but do best in well drained, loam or sandy loam soil. They tolerate clay soil if the location is well-drained.
Haskaps are often sold as small plugs or whips (from on-line distributors) or as larger plants in containers from nurseries.
Plant in a hole that is big enough to accommodate the entire root mass. Haskaps should be planted about 2.5-5 cm (1"-2") deeper than they were in the nursery container.
They should be spaced at least 1 meter (3') apart each other or from other plants.
Keep the soil around newly planted shrubs moist (but not waterlogged) for the first 2 - 3 weeks.
Do not apply chemical fertilizer. You may apply 2 -3 cm of compost or well-composted manure around the base of the plant before applying mulch.
It's important not to allow grass or other plants such as perennial flowers (not to mention weeds!) within about 1 meter (3') of the stems of newly planted haskaps. The competition from other plants can slow or stunt its growth. A better way is to space them properly and apply a thick layer of mulch around the shrub, but take care not to bank mulch against the stems - leave a little well instead.
Haskap plants are self-incompatible so they need another haskap of a different variety for cross-pollination. Both haskaps also need to bloom at the same time, so you will need at least two plants for the home garden. Flowers are pollinated by bees and other pollinating insects.
A common misconception is that one plant acts as a 'pollinator' for the other and doesn't produce fruit. This is false. Both plants are capable of producing fruit. Two compatible plants are needed in order to pollinate each other.
Some nurseries sell two compatible haskaps grown in the same container, making the selection easier for the home gardener. (These are sometimes labeled as containing a 'male' and 'female' plant, hence the misconception above.) The two plants do not have to be separated when planting, although you may have to prune a bit more often to keep two closely planted shrubs from becoming too dense.
A chart of compatible cultivars can be found here.
Haskaps shrubs have a pleasing rounded shape and green leaves verging on an olive colour. They have small, tubular flowers very early in spring, often before the leaves have fully emerged.
Haskaps look nice as part of a large, mulched island bed or border amoung well-spaced perennial flowers.
Haskaps can also be planted as an edible hedge.
Caring for haskaps
It's important not to allow grass or other plants (not to mention weeds!) within about one meter of the trunk of newly planted haskaps. This is because haskaps have a very shallow root system that does not compete well with other plants. Competition from other plants can slow or stunt its growth. A better way is to apply a thick layer of mulch in a wide circle around the shrub, but take care not to bank mulch against the stems - leave a little well instead.
Keep the soil around newly planted shrubs moist (but not waterlogged) for the first 2 - 3 weeks. After that apply about 2.5 cm (1") of water every week or so, unless it rains. Water new plants near the base, but as they grow, apply water at the dripline (the area below the widest part of the tree), where the feeder roots are. Once haskaps are well established (after 2 - 3 years) they do not require a lot of water.
Do not fertilize newly planted shrubs. It is however, good to apply 2 cm of compost or well-composted manure near the base of the shrub before applying the mulch.
An annual application of compost or composted manure in spring is recommended fertilizer for established haskaps. Both provide slow release of nutrients, perfect for haskaps.
If using a granular chemical fertilizer, apply with caution! Haskaps do not have high requirements for fertilizer and because haskaps have a shallow root system, they take up fertilizer more quickly than other shrubs. If you apply chemical fertilizer, do so only once in early spring and at 1/3 to 1/5 the normal amount, using a 10-10-10 formulation.
These plants don't typically require much pruning but they can be pruned to suit your yard.
Prune in fall or winter as it is easier to see the form of the plant. Diseased or damaged wood can be removed at any time.
Haskaps can be pruned to remove a few branches at the base of the shrub to allow more light and air to penetrate the plant. Watch the video to learn how!
Once the plant gets old and unproductive, it can be chopped down about 15 cm (6") above the soil surface and allowed to re-grow. This will rejuvenate the plant.
U of S haskaps are bred for cold hardiness, so no winter protection is required.
Coming soon!
Propagation
Haskap cultivars cannot be grown from seeds. All of our haskap cultivars are propagated asexually.
We do not recommend saving seeds from haskap cultivar shrubs. Seeds do not breed true: the haskaps that are produced will not be the same as the shrub you collected it from. All of our haskaps are propagated asexually through tissue culture.
Coming soon!
Note that haskaps are patented plants. They can only be propagated by licensed propagators for commercial sale.
Harvest
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Since this fruit is the first thing to ripen in the summer, the birds know it and wait for it. Birds love haskaps and can easily strip a bush bare. They can easily strip a bush bare.
- Use netting over your shrubs. Ensure the holes in the netting are no larger than 1.25 cm (1/2") to prevent birds and cats from becoming entangled. Prop the netting up using poles inserting into the soil topped with a pop bottle to keep the netting propped up. Be sure to secure the bottom of the netting with something heavy like bricks or rocks, to prevent birds from crawling underneath.
The berries may appear ripe (with a deep blue colour) on the outside about 5 - 10 days before they are actually ripe on the inside. Taste a few before you harvest. If the inside is mostly green and tastes 'grassy', it is not ripe. Birds will eat under-ripe berries, so be sure to install bird netting before the berries turn colour from green to deep blue.
Some cultivars will ripen all at once, while some ripen more gradually. Some drop fruit easily especially the early blooming cultivars.
Fully grown haskap shrubs can produce 3 - 4.5 kg (6 - 10 lbs) of fruit per year.
Pick haskap berries in the cool of morning or later in the evening. Refrigerate the fruit as soon as possible after picking.
Hand picking the berries works the best. Lift a branch to find the berries as they may be hidden under the leaves.
You can also shake the berries off the bushes into a pail or tarp. We like to use children’s paddling pools!
Storage
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Haskaps can be stored in plastic bags or containers in the refrigerator for 3 - 5 days.
If you're hoping to store them longer, check the preservation section.
Long term preservation methods we recommend include freezing, fermenting, dehydrating (drying) or canning.
Cooking and preserving
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Haskaps can be made into juice, jelly, jam, compote, liqueur, wine, dried berries and fruit leather. Use haskaps in baking cakes, muffins, cobbler, crisps and pies.
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Troubleshooting
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Haskaps are a low maintenance fruit shrub. Providing their water, light and soil needs are managed they don't tend to get a lot of issues. Occasional, light pruning is needed to keep the shrub productive.
The most common problem is birds. The leaves may occasionally get sunscorch but this usually does not affect its overall health or fruit production.
See the Common problems tab on this page for advice on these and other specific haskap issues.
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Common questions
The University of Saskatchewan fruit program holds an annual plant sale open to the public, usually in the first week of June. There may be a second sale in early fall of 2021. Details are available at the link below. We do not sell plants to the public at any other time.
This sale raises funds to hire university summer students and/or purchase equipment for the fruit program.
There is typically a variety of tissue-cultured fruit trees, haskap, sour cherries and other fruits. The plants are whips or saplings, usually in 2"- 4" pots. A plant list will be available closer to the sale date.
There may be a limit to the number of plants sold per person. This is an in-person sale only and we do not ship plants to other locations.
For details and ordering information, please check the most current information about the sale here: USask Fruit program plant sale
Research and student activities
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University of Saskatchewan Fruit program - haskap page