In 2009, Bob Bors wrote:
‘Berry Blue’ (not from our program) which has often been sold as a pollinator has the advantage of growing fast and producing many flowers. Sadly the fruit size of Berry Blue is just as discouraging as its flavour (figure 1). We had done pollination studies several years ago showing that ‘Berry Blue’ would pollinate our varieties.
In 2011, Bob Bors wrote:
‘Honey Bee’ was selected to be a pollinator for ‘Borealis’, ‘Tundra’ and the ‘Indigo’ series. (I’ll call them ‘BTI’) It blooms at the same time and has given good fruit set when used in controlled crosses with them. It is very fast growing, productive and starts fruiting at an early age. Its fruits are cylindrical and look more like its Russian parent (see figure 1); perhaps like the shape of a bee’s body. Unlike most Russian varieties used for pollination, ‘Honey Bee’ holds onto its fruit firmly and stays on the bush longer than most other varieties. Most Russian blue honeysuckles varieties drop their fruit as soon as ripe in late June or early July, but not ‘Honey Bee’.
Hi Bob: I don’t imagine you’ve heard of me. I’m a retired barley breeder, & live in Red Deer. I’ve been following your work with the blue berried honeysuckle. A few years ago I sampled the berries on a display hedge of the species at the Lacombe Federal Agriculture Canada Research Station. Most of the fruit did not taste well, as expected. However there was one small part of the hedge where the berries did taste better. Would you like me to send you some of these?
Lacombe is only about 25km from Red Deer & I go there occasionally.
Hi Bob,
I’m not Bob Bors but you can reach him at http://www.fruit.usask.ca/Contact.html.
Quebec nurseries are selling Borealis and Tundra. I purchased 1 Tundra and would like a polinator such as Honey Bee. Are these for sale in Quebec?
Nancy
Possibly. Try http://vegetolab.com/camerisier_fr.html
Nurseries in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia seem to be selling mainly Indigo and Borealis. Will these two varieties pollinate, or do I need a third variety?
Borealis, Tundra and all three Indigo cultivars are related and cannot be used to pollinate each other. The recommended pollinator for all five is Berry Blue or Honeybee.