Tundra and Borealis — nice words of the north that tend to bring on an extra shiver or two at this time of year. They’re actually the names chosen for new varieties of a plant that is currently hard to find in Ontario, but has the potential to be grown in any backyard.
One of the attributes of this plant is its hardiness — even the flowers can handle -7 C temperatures. It’s not the flowers that are of interest though; it’s the berries, an edible food crop.
The plant is Haskap, also known as blue honeysuckle, honeyberry or edible honeysuckle. The botanical name is Lonicera caerulea and it’s a plant that can grow in pretty well any northern temperate zone around the world.
Much research has been done to improve the plant as an ornamental (particularly in Russia and Japan) and to develop it as a viable crop.
At the University of Saskatchewan, Bob Bors has been working to make the fruit suitable for commercial harvesting and more palatable. The better varieties are said to have a flavour somewhere between blueberries and raspberries, but some are said to taste like a gin and tonic without the gin.
After collecting hundreds of seedlings from around the world and after studying, breeding and cloning many varieties, Bors successfully produced and named Tundra and Borealis as the best to date.
Borealis has the better flavour of the two, but is a more delicate fruit, not suitable for commercial harvesting. Tundra is tougher, but has the second best flavour. When ripe, the fruit is blue, like large blueberries but with an elongated shape. Unlike blueberries, Haskap does not require an acidic soil to grow well. As for pests and disease, it has few problems — other than some mildew, but this occurs after fruiting is complete.
If grown in a home garden, the shrub can be pruned to a controlled shape, as is done with apple trees. It will produce fruit the first year after planting, but it may be three years before a reasonable berry crop is produced — and that’s if birds don’t steal them. On the other hand, if you want to attract birds to your garden, Haskap is apparently a magnet for cedar waxwings. Besides feeding birds, the berries can be used as most other fruits are used — in jams, pie filling, wines and preserves.
Can you grow these in your own garden? You can if you can find them, as I may be a little premature with this information on Haskap.
I contacted Connon Nurseries in Watertown, Ont., to check on availability. Alas, I was informed that their complete supply, including those they were planning to grow themselves, has already sold out. These will be available at a few retailers across the province, but will be in very short supply until production has increased to meet demand. If you do find Haskap plants and want them for edible fruit, keep in mind that Haskap is a generic name, so be certain the variety you buy is either Tundra or Borealis, developed by Bob Bors.
Stratford Garden Festival
Last minute reminder for The Stratford Garden Festival: It runs today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Stratford Rotary Complex, 353 McCarthy Rd., Stratford.
It’s always a treat to have this show in our own backyard, with plenty to see and lots to buy. There are speakers on a range of topics from orchids and peonies to landscape design. At 1:30 p.m. today, the popular Frankie Flowers (a.k.a. Frank Ferrigine, the Citytv weather reporter) will be speaking on maximum bloom with little gloom. And tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., I’ll be speaking on the topic, No Petunias — A Potpourri of the Unique and Unusual. Come on down!
David Hobson gardens in Waterloo and is happy to answer garden questions, preferably by email: firstname.lastname@example.org. Reach him by mail c/o Etcetera, The Record, 160 King St. E. Kitchener, Ont. N2G 4E5