Sweetberry Honeysuckle

Other Names: Honeyberry; Bearberry Honeysuckle

Description:

An interesting hardy background or massing shrub with clean foliage and powdery blue berries which are edible; dense and fairly compact growing habit, good for general shrub use where a tough performer is required

Ornamental Features:

Sweetberry Honeysuckle has green foliage throughout the season. The narrow leaves do not develop any appreciable fall colour. It features subtle creamy white flowers along the branches in mid spring. It produces blue berries in early summer, which are excellent for making jams and jellies. While it is considered to be somewhat self-pollinating, it tends to set heavier quantities of fruit with a different variety of the same species growing nearby. The smooth gray bark is not particularly outstanding.

Landscape Attributes:

Sweetberry Honeysuckle is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Sweetberry Honeysuckle is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• General Garden Use
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening

Plant Characteristics:

Sweetberry Honeysuckle will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments.

This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.