Haskap variety 3 of 11
Berry Blue
Get to know this variety and where it fits in the usual ripening order at Camerise St-Gabriel.
Usual ripening order at our orchard: 3 of 11
Five quick facts
- Usual period
- Early season
- Flavour
- Local flavour profile still being documented
- Texture
- Small, elongated berry
- Best use
- Freezing and jam
- Picking
- Mature shrub is comfortable to pick while standing
In NDSU’s 2011–2012 trials, its berries were smaller than Indigo Gem berries.
In the same trial, the shrub was the largest of the cultivars compared. Those measurements do not describe our harvest.
A small blue berry is not automatically ready to eat: follow the team’s guidance to find the rows and berries that are ripe.
GROWN AND OBSERVED HERE
What we observe at Camerise St-Gabriel
These practical notes come from our own plants, harvests and visitor experience. They can vary with ripeness, weather and the season.
- At our orchard, the berries are fairly elongated and somewhat resemble the shape of Blue Banana.
- We readily use it for freezing and for jam. Jam is one of this variety’s particularly useful applications at the orchard.
- Mature plants are generally at a comfortable height for picking while standing.
Published descriptions and background
Origin and identity
Berry Blue is also known as Czech No. 17. A published study describes it as a Czech cultivar of Russian descent, long used as a pollinizer.
Taste and texture
Horticultural references describe it as a smaller sweet-tart haskap. A berry that has turned blue may still be developing flavour: ask our team which berries are ripe enough before picking.
Fruit and picking
In NDSU’s 2011–2012 trials, its berries were smaller than Indigo Gem berries, while the shrub was vigorous. This gives a visual point of comparison without predicting fruit weight in our season.
Fresh or prepared
If you enjoy noticeable tartness, compare it fresh with other early varieties when a tasting is offered. At the orchard, we use it notably for jam and frozen berries; this practical choice is not a comparative processing-yield trial.
What we will continue to observe here
To document at our orchard: the time between turning blue and best flavour, and how well ripe fruit stays on the plant.
The ripening order comes from our orchard observations. Varieties may overlap, and weather changes timing, flavour and berry size. Published measurements come from other growing sites and do not indicate what can be picked today.
Sources and context
Published fruit descriptions come from the sources below; they are not measurements made at our orchard. The usual ripening position is our own observation.