Korean Boxwood vs Blue Honeysuckle - TreeTime.ca

Korean Boxwood vs Blue Honeysuckle

Lonicera caerulea

Buxus microphylla Koreana

CUSTOM GROW

Blue Honeysuckle
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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.

Korean Boxwood is a vibrant evergreen shrub. A top choice for colder climates, this shrub will look stunning lining a driveway or as a foundation plant.

Easy to root in and maintain, Korean Boxwood's thick foliage is deer resistant and turns an attractive yellow-brown to purplish in winter. Consider applying mulch around the base to keep the roots moist and cool.

Blue Honeysuckle Quick Facts

Korean Boxwood Quick Facts

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Zone: 2a
Zone: 4a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to spreading
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Suckering: none


Foliage: evergreen
Fall colour: yellow-brown to purple
Flowers: yellowish-white, funnel shaped
Bloom time: mid to late spring
Berries: oblong, dark purplish-blue, edible
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
Other Names: blue fly-honeysuckle, fly honeysuckle, haskap, honeyberry, mountain fly honeysuckle, sweetberry honeysuckle