Honey Queen Raspberry vs Black Crowberry - TreeTime.ca

Honey Queen Raspberry vs Black Crowberry

Rubus x Honey Queen

Empetrum nigrum

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

Honey Queen Raspberry
Black Crowberry

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.

Black Crowberry is a native evergreen shrub that forms low, spreading mats. It has unique foliage that spiral around the stem, and small dark berries, giving it visual appeal. The berries are edible, but can be acidic, so are not generally eaten fresh. In colder climates they have a sweet, tart taste, and are dried, used in deserts, or for making jams or jellies.
It provides food for birds and mammals, while its flowers attract pollinators such as bees. Its ability to grow in harsh climates makes it an important species for ecological balance.
Black Crowberry has historical significance as it provided a vital food source for the indigenous cultures of the arctic regions. It is abundant in Scandinavia and is used to make liqueurs, wines, and juices. In Newfoundland and Labrador the berries are known locally as ‘blackberries’ and are used in jams, jellies and baked goods like buns and puddings.

Honey Queen Raspberry Quick Facts

Black Crowberry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.4 m (1.3 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: any
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, matt-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: high


Foliage: small, rough, with jagged edges
Foliage: evergreen needle-like leaves
Flowers: pink-red, very small
Bloom time: late spring to early summer
Berries: sweet, yellow raspberries
Berries: purplish-black, edible
Flavor: bland, slightly bitter
Harvest: late summer to fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU
Other Names: crakeberry, curlewberry, heathberry, northern crowberry