Giants Heart Haskap (Honeyberry) vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Giants Heart Haskap (Honeyberry) vs Bilberry

Vaccinium myrtillus

Lonicera caerulea Giants Heart

CUSTOM GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Bilberry
Giants Heart Haskap (Honeyberry)

Bilberry is a native perennial shrub valued for its small, blue-black berries that ripen in mid to late summer. The berries resemble blueberries but have a richer, more tart, and intense flavor. They have long been used for fresh eating, baking, and preserves, while also providing food for birds and mammals. In spring, its delicate pinkish flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

Growing low to the ground, Bilberry forms spreading colonies that create dense understory cover. This growth habit provides food and shelter for wildlife, and its foliage adds seasonal interest by turning red to purple in autumn. With its adaptability and ecological benefits, Bilberry is well-suited for naturalization, ecological restoration, and pollinator gardens.

The Giants Heart Haskap is a late-ripening shrub that blooms with small white flowers and produces large, firm blue berries that are ready for harvest in late July. Their taste is typically described as something between a raspberry and a blueberry.

The Giants Heart Haskap, or Giants Heart Honeyberry is suitable for commercial growth as it is high yielding with sweet berries, cold-hardy and a vigorous grower.

Giants Heart is a late pollinating variety. Pair with other late pollinators to have a higher yield.
Kawaii is a great companion variety.

Bilberry Quick Facts

Giants Heart Haskap (Honeyberry) Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: any
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium

Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses

Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Flavor: sweet
Flavor: very sweet
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry
Other Names: giants heart honeyberry