Honeyberry (Haskap) in Zone 6a & 6b

Lonicera caerulea

When to plant honeyberry (haskap) in zone 6b

Zones 6a and 6b share the same average frost dates in our data, so this page covers both.

Method: Buy as a start: Buy as a nursery start and transplant outside. Honeyberry (Haskap) is slow or unreliable from seed, so most gardeners skip seed-starting it entirely.

Spacing: about 20 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 3-6 ft.

Honeyberry, also called haskap, is one of the most cold-hardy and shade-tolerant fruiting shrubs available, worth considering for a spot too cold, wet, or shady for most other berries to thrive in.

How honeyberry (haskap) fits zone 6's season

Zone 6b's frost-free window runs about 173 days, from April 25 to October 15. Honeyberry (Haskap) takes about 2 growing seasons to reach first worthwhile harvest, so what matters here is how many of these seasons it gets, not whether one is long enough.

Honeyberry (Haskap) is hardy in zones 2-7, so in zone 6b it stays in the ground through winter and comes back rather than being replanted. Allow about 4 ft of spread at maturity.

Good companions

No standout companions recorded yet for Honeyberry (Haskap).

Where to buy honeyberry starts

Honeyberry (Haskap) is almost always bought as a nursery start rather than seeded. Check a local nursery or garden center; we haven't vetted online start/plant suppliers yet.

See it growing

Search YouTube for "growing honeyberry (haskap)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)

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Growing Honeyberry (Haskap) in USDA zone 6b: when to start seeds indoors, when to direct-sow, and when to expect a harvest.

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