A few weeks ago, I got to sample some berries from 3 of the 4 varieties I planted in the fall: (blue moon,blue velvet, cinderella, borealis). This was the first time I've tried honeyberries, so I thought I'd report to others who are wondering about their taste. I really liked them; I think they are better than an average store bought blueberry but not as sweet as the best homegrown blueberries. Also, they were very juicy. I was not disappointed at all. Mine are grown in full sun and I left them on the bush for maybe three days after they turned blue. I held out a few days longer for one, and it was better than the others. I think they were good enough that I'm going to plant a row or two of them this fall. This post was edited by Ztom on Sat, Jun 21, 14 at 22:51

mk I am in zone 5 in NE Ohio. I ordered 2 blue moon and 2 blue velvet from Burnt Ridge also. Beries Unlimited also have honeyberries. The reason I went with these two varieties is that they are late blooming some we could have some pollinators. I am curious about the taste of the honeyberry. I guess that we will have to wait a year or two to find out.

I'm trying honeyberries in the shade too, but nothing really to report yet. they are too young. Well keep us updated on your results. Cornus Mas is growing really well, but these are trees. i had seedlings. i read to expect fruit around the 6th leaf. They are 3rd leaf. The variegated elderberry is doing well too. I would say these two will work. I don't have any recent photos. I need to take some. I have a photo from last year of the dogwoods. I don't know the answer to any of your other questions. I'm also trying currants, but gave up on them. They need at least 1/2 a day.I grow them, not in shade though. My problems is just not shade, it's extremely wet to extremely dry, cold, windy, tree roots all over. It's a tough environment. Raspberries I have in shade, Fall Gold, Anne, and Himbo Top are doing OK, not great, but producing. Anne is a low production plant, but it is worth growing. The berries are awesome. Fall gold too, nice plant. Wineberries would probably do well too. I'm trying those and thimbleberries. Both woodland Rubus plants. Both are too young to give any report on.

Interesting reading everyone's experiences with honeyberries. I'm in Fairbanks, Alaska, and have 4 plants (each one a different variety) that are now 6 years old. They all look slightly different and the berries taste different. They make a fantastic jam or pie filling. But the best thing (imho) is how fast they produce berries. Mine began blooming the 3rd week of May this year and we picked the first crop on Father's Day in June. We got about 1 quart of berries per bush (not counting all the ones that went into our mouths while we picked!) There are that many again on each bush that are ready to pick now. They are delicious but you do have to let them ripen otherwise they are sour. The bushes take no care whatsoever EXCEPT you have to net them or the robins will strip you clean in a few hours. We are completely sold on these berries and look forward to them every year (ours set fruit beginning in year 2). I would love to see a nutritional analysis of them.