Diablo Ninebark vs Blue Honeysuckle

Diablo Ninebark is a small, low maintenance, multi-stemmed shrub, that is used to add texture or color to any yard. This plant grows dark purple leaves in the spring and grows slightly faster than Common Ninebark. It features flaky red to brown bark, clusters of white flowers, and long, maple-like leaves. Diablo Ninebark can make a dense and colorful hedge, or it can be an attractive ornamental by itself.

Blue Honeysuckle (wild Haskap or Honeyberry) is a cold hardy shrub and native to most of Canada. The pale yellow to white flowers provide nectar and pollen for bumblebees and other pollinators. The edible berries resemble elongated blueberries. They have a sweet-tart flavour often described as a blend of blueberry, raspberry, and blackcurrant, though wild berries can vary in taste.

Compared to popular cultivated varieties, the berries of Blue Honeysuckle are typically smaller and more variable in shape and flavour. While some enjoy eating the berries fresh, they are more commonly used in baking and preserves. Blue Honeysuckle can be used in hedgerows, border plantings, and naturalized landscapes. It may also serve as a cross-pollination partner in haskap plantings or as a decoy planting to draw birds and wildlife away from more desirable fruit crops.

Blue Honeysuckle has limited self-pollination and produces better yields when planted with other haskap plants or varieties for cross-pollination. Wild populations have not been studied as extensively as cultivated varieties, and because these plants are grown from seed, bloom timing and cross-pollination compatibility may vary.

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