Diablo Ninebark vs Blue Honeysuckle - TreeTime.ca

Diablo Ninebark vs Blue Honeysuckle

Lonicera caerulea

Physocarpus opulifolius Diablo

Blue Honeysuckle
Diablo Ninebark

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.

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 Quick Facts

Diablo Ninebark Quick Facts

Lowest Price: $2.99 - SAVE UP TO 67%
Lowest Price: $4.99 - SAVE UP TO 44%
Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright to spreading
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: reddish-purple
Fall colour: yellow
Bark: brown to red, exfoliating
Flowers: yellowish-white, funnel shaped
Flowers: white
Bloom time: mid to late spring
Berries: oblong, dark purplish-blue, edible
Berries: red
Flavor: sweet-tart
Harvest: mid-summer
Seeds: inflated seed capsules
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, NU, PE
Other Names: blue fly-honeysuckle, fly honeysuckle, haskap, honeyberry, mountain fly honeysuckle, sweetberry honeysuckle
Other Names: eastern ninebark, purple ninebark