Black Elderberry vs Blue Honeysuckle

Black Elderberry is a deciduous shrub native to eastern North America. You can plant this shrub in moist areas and it will help stabilize your soil. You can also use it on rural properties anywhere you'd use a lilac.

Black Elderberries are considered to be partially self-pollinating. So while they will still produce some berries without cross-pollination, planting with another variety will increase yields. Consider planting with Ranch Elderberry or Bob Gordon Elderberry.

Warning: the seeds, stems, leaves, roots, and uncooked berries of the Black Elderberry are poisonous to humans when eaten in quantity. You should cook the berries to make them safe for human consumption.

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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