How to Grow Honeyberries from Seed: A Beginner’s Guide
Updated: 4 days ago
You can grow honeyberries, also called haskap (Lonicera caerulea), from seed by extracting seeds from ripe berries, cold stratifying them for 8 to 12 weeks at 1 to 5°C, then sowing them on the surface of moist compost at 18 to 22°C. Seeds germinate in 2 to 6 weeks, and seedlings usually start fruiting in their third or fourth year.
Honeyberries are one of the hardiest fruits you can grow, and a great alternative to blueberries because they don’t need acidic soil. They flower early, fruit in late May and June before almost any other berry, and suit Irish and UK gardens well.
Honeyberry Quick Facts
Latin name: Lonicera caerulea (honeyberry, haskap, blue honeysuckle)
Stratification: 8 to 12 weeks cold (1 to 5°C)
Germination temperature: 18 to 22°C
Germination time: 2 to 6 weeks
Time to first fruit: 3 to 4 years from seed; 1 to 2 years from a young plant
Position: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Most soils, pH 5.5 to 7.5; no acidic soil needed
Pollination: Needs two or more different plants
Spacing: 1.2 to 1.5 m
Harvest: Late May to June
Hardiness: Extremely hardy (to about -40°C)
Step 1: Collect the Seeds
Pick fully ripe berries: they turn deep blue on the outside and purple right through when ripe.
Mash them in a bowl of water. Viable seeds sink; pulp and empty seeds float.
Pour off the pulp, rinse the seeds and dry them on kitchen paper for a day.
Store in a labelled envelope in the fridge until you are ready to stratify.
Honeyberries don’t grow true from seed, so each seedling will be slightly different from its parent. That can be part of the fun, and some seedlings turn out especially well suited to your garden.
Step 2: Cold Stratify the Seeds
Honeyberry seeds need a winter chill before they will germinate. In Ireland and the UK you can sow them in pots in autumn and leave them outside over winter. For an indoor spring sowing, stratify them in the fridge:
Mix the seeds with damp sand or wrap them in a damp paper towel.
Seal in a labelled bag or container and refrigerate at 1 to 5°C for 8 to 12 weeks.
Check every couple of weeks that they are damp but not wet, and remove any mould.
Step 3: Sow the Seeds
Fill a tray or small pots with fine, free-draining seed compost and water it well.
Scatter the seeds on the surface and press them in gently. Cover with only a light dusting of compost, as they need light to germinate.
Mist, cover with a clear lid, and keep in a bright spot at 18 to 22°C.
Step 4: Care for the Seedlings
Keep the compost moist but never soggy.
Give bright light: a sunny windowsill or 12 to 16 hours under a grow light.
Remove the lid once most seedlings are up, to improve airflow.
Pot seedlings on individually when they have two or three sets of true leaves.
Step 5: Grow On and Plant Out
Grow young plants on in pots for a year, then harden them off over 7 to 10 days and plant out between November and March while dormant. Choose a sunny or partly shaded spot with moist, well-drained soil, and mulch well.
Plant at least two different honeyberries within a few metres of each other. They are not self-fertile and need a partner that flowers at the same time to produce fruit. Because they flower very early, a sheltered spot helps bees reach the blossom.
Troubleshooting Honeyberries
No germination: give the seeds another 4 weeks in the fridge and keep them moist. Old or dried-out seed germinates poorly.
Mould or damping off: improve airflow, remove the cover sooner and water less often.
Flowers but no fruit: almost always a pollination problem. Plant a second, different honeyberry nearby.
Birds take the fruit: net bushes as the berries start to colour in late May.
Honeyberries vs Blueberries
Honeyberries taste somewhere between a blueberry and a raspberry, with a sweet-tart flavour. The big advantage is soil: blueberries need acidic soil (pH 4.5 to 5.5), while honeyberries grow happily in ordinary garden soil. They also fruit a month or more earlier. Read our blueberry growing guide for a full comparison.
FAQ: Growing Honeyberries from Seed
How long does it take to grow honeyberries from seed?
Honeyberry seeds need 8 to 12 weeks of cold stratification, then germinate in 2 to 6 weeks. Seedlings usually produce their first fruit in their third or fourth year and reach full cropping a couple of years later.
Are honeyberry and haskap the same thing?
Yes. Honeyberry, haskap and blue honeysuckle are all common names for Lonicera caerulea. Haskap is the name used in Japan and Canada; honeyberry is more common in Europe and the US.
Do honeyberries need two plants to fruit?
Yes. Honeyberries are not self-fertile, so plant at least two different varieties or seedlings that flower at the same time within a few metres of each other.
Do honeyberries need acidic soil?
No. Unlike blueberries, honeyberries grow in most well-drained soils with a pH of about 5.5 to 7.5, which makes them much easier for most gardens.
When do honeyberries fruit in Ireland?
Honeyberries are one of the first fruits of the year in Ireland and the UK, usually ripening from late May into June, before strawberries.
Other Hardy Berries for Irish Gardens
We don’t currently stock honeyberry plants, but if you want a hardy, low-fuss berry you can plant this winter, these are excellent choices:
Aronia (chokeberry): very hardy, grows in almost any soil and gives heavy crops of dark, richly flavoured berries. See our aronia plants.
Black currant: a reliable Irish favourite that fruits within a year or two. See our black currants.
Silver buffalo berry: a tough, nitrogen-fixing shrub with tart red berries, ideal for a food forest. See our silver buffalo berry.
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