Nannyberry vs Blue Honeysuckle - TreeTime.ca

Nannyberry vs Blue Honeysuckle

Lonicera caerulea

Viburnum lentago

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Blue Honeysuckle
Nannyberry

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.

Nannyberry is a hardy shrub known for attracting wildlife. Its clusters of white flowers and tasty berries are suitable for bees, birds, and other animals.

Nannyberry is also used in urban yards and landscaping. This shrub makes a beautiful ornamental and is small enough to grow underneath power lines. Its berries can be eaten fresh or used in baking and preserves.

Makes a great hedge or privacy screen in an urban yard. Often has great red fall color to complement its spring flowers.

Blue Honeysuckle Quick Facts

Nannyberry Quick Facts

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Zone: 2a
Zone: 2b
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: any
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright to spreading
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Suckering: medium


Bark: gray and scaly
Flowers: yellowish-white, funnel shaped
Flowers: white
Bloom time: mid to late spring
Berries: oblong, dark purplish-blue, edible
Berries: red to purple
Flavor: sweet-tart
Harvest: mid-summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


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