I have a variety called "Thunderbird", tiny berries, sweet with some tart. I like them.

Welcome.

I have had eHucks in the yard for about 20 years and sample those I encounter in SE Portland. They were simply purchased from a landscaping company, no special variety.

They have to be very ripe to become sweet; just turning black is not enough. They are more likely to be sweet after the first frost, although this may be because of lateness in the season rather than low temperature. Same is often said of the mountain berries.

Since they are distinct varieties, I assume you could tell the Siskiyou eHucks apart from others, thinleaf, etc. eHucks grow readily in the valley, other kinds are difficult.

I don't think climate is a factor as the W. valley is among the warmest climes in western Oregon, except for some southern valleys. And fruit native to the mountains would not be expected to require heat. Most people harvest Cascade Mountain huckleberries before or by Labor Day when the fruit is still tart although it has attained the dark color--another example of why having patience is better.

You might try propagating from some neighborhood plants you find tasty, if the owner is willing.

I have found that using them in baking results in a consistent huckleberry flavor, even if the raw berries are not at their sweetest.

Is it possible you might be thinking of mountain huckleberries? V. Ovatum is the lower elevation evergreen kind. MH are delicious but hard to grow in lower elevations.
http://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/vaccinium-membranaceum

For most fruit they get sweeter as they become more ripe. Sweetness also depends upon the variety and the amount of sunlight and water. For some fruit, too much water can affect the sweetness and too little sunlight can make them more juicy but less sweet. Assuming that conditions are great and you taste them well after they are ready to harvest, if they are still very tart it is probably the variety.

Hi folks, thanks for the input!

Yes, I am letting them get fully ripe. After frost, and even now, midwinter, they don't get sweeter the way they should.

And, yes, I am sure they are V ovatum :).

@larry_gene: Taste-testing around town is a good idea, but I have not been able to find any with fruit. They are commonly used as decorative hedges here, and the shearing seems to prevent fruiting. I will keep looking, but am not hopeful.

Does anybody know a source of huckleberry plants selected for eating? I've been googling, but maybe I have not thought of the right search string?

My guess is that there has been more hybridizing for landscape purposes rather than fruit quality, the major fruit nurseries around here (OGW, Raintree, etc.) offer only the basic species. It has been mentioned on this forum previously that plants with bluish fruit may have better flavor.

Any fruit can get over-ripe, and I would think mid-winter huckleberries would be past their prime.

Shearing does greatly reduce fruit, but on close inspection, there are usually a few berries lurking below the surface, in favorable years.

I used three search strings: (requires advanced search)
"evergreen huckleberry" (exact phrase) AND one of these:
varieties
varietals
cultivars

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/vacova/all.html
http://arcadianabe.blogspot.com/2011/10/evergreen-huckleberries.html
http://wildhuckleberry.com/species/
http://myfolia.com/plants/821-evergreen-huckleberry-vaccinium-ovatum/varieties
http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_vaov2.pdf
http://www.suncrestnurseries.com/public%20downloads/Introductions%20by%20Suncrest%20Nurseries%202011.pdf

were of interest, came across at least 6 named cultivars.

And the search also turned up this tidbit:
Palatability of evergreen huckleberry browse in California
has been rated as follows:
Cattle poor-useless
Sheep fair-poor
Horses useless
Domestic goats fair-poor
Deer fair-poor

in case you have any hungry goats.

The flavor of existing cultivars might be dominated more by growing conditions than anything else. A percentage of mine are fairly sweet by Labor Day.

Just saw that Portland Nursery is carrying the Thunderbird variety for 2013.

Thank you so much, larry_gene! I'd completely forgotten the word 'varietal'. And I'm glad to know my huckleberries won't be troubled by the bands of marauding feral horses in my city ;).

I checked all the links you posted, but the various varieties do seem to all be chosen for foliage characteristics, don't they? It's a shame.

I also consulted my dad, who was of the opinion that my childhood memories of better-tasting wild huckleberries were inaccurate ;).

Maybe I oughta just propagate from what I've got, and add cuttings from any extra-tasty ones I run across in the future?

Also, does Portland Nursery do mail order? I don't see any reference to that on their website, but an expedition could be possible.

The Thunderbird variety is from plants that occur naturally in British Columbia. Fruit is bluish and is said to be less acidic (tart) than the black-fruited variety. Supposed to have larger leaves.

eHucks are a very niche fruit, often low-yielding, so not much has been done for improved berries.

Your dad may be onto something: Childhood memories of novel events tend to be enhanced in adulthood.

Portland Nursery does not do mail order, but the small fruit list for 2013 may warrant an expedition:

http://portlandnursery.com/docs/fruits/smallfruits13.pdf

The list includes a European huckleberry, Caucasian Whortleberry (deciduous). They recommend calling ahead as everything on the list may not show up in Portland.
Mid-Feb to Mid March is their timeline.