mountain fly honeysuckle

Photo: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown — Public domain · source

Survives zone 2 through 6

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

The North American mountain fly honeysuckle, and a genuine close relative of haskap — botanists still argue whether it is a separate species or a subspecies of Lonicera caerulea. Small blue berries, sweet-tart and edible like haskap, though smaller and borne more sparsely than the selected cultivars. ⚠ Worth knowing at genus level: this and haskap are among the few edible honeysuckles. Many Lonicera berries are emetic or toxic — identify to species rather than trusting the genus.

Hardiness

Zone 2–6

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Late May–June (earliest crop of the year)

Mature size

Compact shrub 1–2 m; excellent in containers

Light

Full sun to partial

Soil pH

5.0–7.0

Environment

Boreal

Native range

North-eastern North America — from the Great Lakes and New England north through eastern Canada; bogs, fens, damp thickets and cool rocky shores.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

3 yrs

Growth speed

20–40 cm/year — medium.

Spacing

120 cm (47 in) apart — about 1.4 m² (16 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Opposite, oval to oblong, 2–6 cm long, softly hairy (villosa means shaggy) on both faces with untoothed margins.

Root system

Shallow and fibrous, spreading laterally near the surface; benefits from mulch and resents drought.

Fruit description

Small oblong blue berries about 8–12 mm long under a pale bloom, sweet-tart and edible like haskap but smaller, and borne less heavily than selected cultivars.

Propagation

Softwood cuttings in early summer or hardwood cuttings in autumn both root readily. Seed needs about 2–3 months cold stratification and gives variable plants.

Pollination

⚠ Self-incompatible, like the rest of the blue-honeysuckle complex it belongs to — a lone plant sets little or nothing. Plant a second, genetically distinct plant flowering at the same time. Bumblebees are the main pollinators, working the very early flowers.

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.