Russian honeyberry haskap (blue honeysuckle) varities.

This article is for those who don't understand Russian, first of all for my blog visitors from Canada and the US where haskap/honeyberry farming is becoming more and more popular. Blue honeysuckle bushes are very import source of nectar and pollen for bees in early spring. We recommend all the beekeepers to plant honeysuckle because it blooms early, the plant is very winter-hardy, berries are very tasty and can be compared with blueberries. Along with aronia blue honeysuckle can be farmed succesfully in northern climates as in Russia and in Canada (some parts of Alaska peharps?).

For many years honeyberries were very common only for two nations: Japanese and Russian. In both countries researchers grow and select the best berry bushes, in Canada breeding is on the way and today I will try to tell you about the best Russian honeyberry varieties and breeders who have been selecting and introducing new varieties for more than 50 years.

Blue honeysuckle selection in USSR started by several breeders and reseach centers situated in different climate zones of the country. In 2010 The Russian national selection registry contained information about 85 varieties of blue honeysuckle. In Siberia in the Bakchar community of the Tomsk region selected the best varities in the world.
According to a climate zone and a place where a variety is released all the varieties can be divided into:
1. Moscow region varieties. Released in The Central Botanic garden of the Russian Accademy of Sciences by L.Kuminov, A.Kuklina, A.Skvorzov.

Viliga 

Berries: big, 3 cm long, 1,2 gr

Taste: sweet and sour, astridgent.

Peel: thin

Productivity: 2,4 kg per bush

Bush: 2 m and more

Abscission: medium
Ripening time: 

Gzhelka

Berries: medium, 2,5 cm long, 1 gr

Taste: sweet and sour, without bitterness.

Peel: -

Crop yield: up to 2 kg per bush

Bush: up to 1,7 m

Abscission: low

Late Gzhelskaya

Berries: big, 3 cm long, 1,2 gr

Taste: sweet and sour, astridgent.

Peel: thin

Productivity: 2,4 kg per bush

Bush: 2 m and more

Abscission: medium
Ripening time: 

Early Gzhelskaya

Zimorodok

Kuminovka

Lakomka

Moskovskaya 23

Early Nizhegorodskaya

Princess Diana

Radost moya ("My dear")

Sinichka

 Fortuna

Shakhinya

Other varities: Soska, Uliana, Skoroplodnaya, Ramenskaya, Kucha mala, Kubyshka, Lulia.

2. Leningrad (Saint-Peterbourg) region varities. Released in the Pavlovsk experimental station of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Amfora

Bogdana

Viola

Volhova

Dessertnaya

Izbranniza

Lebiodushka

Malvina

Morena

Nimfa

Omega

3. Ural region varities. Released in The South Ural Insitute of holticulture and potato farming of the Russian Accademy of Sciences (Chelyabinsk city) by V.Il'in, N.Il'ina.

4. Siberian varities. 
4.1 Released in The Batchar main base of northern horticulture by I.Gidzuyk, A.Tkacheva, N.Savinkova, A.Pavlovskaya. The base has more than 170 hectares (420 acres) of haskap plantation.

Haskap is the most popular berry among local people. They even put it on the community emblem.

The base already selected 12 winter-hardy (the temperatures in winter can be lower -45 С in the Tomsk region) very productive (up to 7 kg/a 5-7 year bush) haskap varieties. Some new varities are also coming in several years. 

Among the varities are:

The giant of Bakchar

Bakchar's glory

Narymskaya

Siberian

Ugana

Chulymskaya

4.2 Released in The Institute of Siberian horticulture sciences of the  Russian Accademy of Sciences  (Barnaul city)

5. The Russian Far East varities.

Try to plant honeyberry in your garden!

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