Honey Queen Raspberry vs Illini Hardy Blackberry
Rubus x Honey Queen
Rubus fruticosus Illini Hardy
NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON
Honey Queen Raspberry is known for its sweet honey flavor and unique yellow color. Its berries are soft and medium-sized, nice for picking and eating in the summer.
Honey Queen was developed in Rocky Mountain House by Robert Erskine and is very winter hardy. Canes are yellowish, floricane, arched and moderately spiny.
Honey Queen should be trellised upright for best results. While all raspberries prefer the sun, Honey Queen is the best option for planting in shady areas.
The Honey Queen Raspberry is a fast-growing floricane. This means that raspberries will not grow on canes the year they first grow. The mature canes they do grow on, however, produce more berries than primocane varieties.
Check out some video of a Honey Queen Raspberry we saw this summer on our YouTube Channel. Click here.
The Illini Hardy Blackberry was developed in Illinois for northern growers, and produces a large, juicy blackberry with medium-sweet flavor. The berries are ready for harvest in midsummer, and go great in preserves.
The Illini Hardy Blackberry, or the Illinois Blackberry, are floricanes, primarily fruiting on second year canes. Each spring cut back all two-year old canes, leaving only the last year’s growth. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn’t require a second plant nearby to set fruit.