Growers Guide
The following information offers an introduction to the planning, planting, management, and harvesting of your Haskap crop, whether for a commercial scale operation or a home garden.
Growing Regions
With many cultivars originating from Russia and Japan, these deciduous shrubs are regionally suited to throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere. Due to their incredible frost tolerance and extreme hardiness, Haskap plants have the potential to thrive in most Canadian regions as well as the northern part of the United States. Specifically, they can grow in plant hardiness zones of 1a and warmer. It has been reported that shrubs can resist temperatures of -46°C and flowers can survive freezing temperatures of -3°C to -5°C.
Haskap cultivars developed by the University of Saskatchewan and undergoing breeding by Phytocultures are highly adapted to North American climates and soil types and are tolerant of high humidity conditions in the Maritimes. New varieties are currently under development to leverage their commercial potential. We have received positive reports from growers with plantations in various regions, including eastern Newfoundland and the southern region of James Bay in Northern Ontario.
We welcome you to contact us with any questions or for more information.
Phytocultures in is an active process of trialling new varieties and production management techniques on our test site location in Clyde River, P.E.I. We are sharing our observations and results to other growers interested in Haskap production. Results and production experiences may vary for other management practices and locations. If you have additional questions our team is happy to provide advice and support based on our own trials and research plots and in collaboration with our partners across North America.
Quick Facts:
- Easy to grow and widely adaptable to all soil types, including clay and sand, and tolerate pH levels ranging from 4.5 to 8.5.
- Grow in plant hardiness zones 1a and warmer and are extremely cold/winter hardy and frost tolerant (to -40°C!).
- Varieties tailored to cold North American and Maritime climates with new varieties under development in Canada.
- Flowers are ideal for native pollinators and are also frost tolerant.
- One of the first spring fruits available to market, ripening early to mid June.
- Offer economic advantages as a sister crop by diversifying and extending the berry season while optimizing infrastructure, labour, and equipment.
- Naturally pest and disease resistant, have low fertility requirements, and highly suited to organic production.
- Huge market potential as a superfruit with many opportunities for value-adding in culinary and medicinal industries.
- Exceptional nutritional properties, including higher antioxidant content than blueberries.