Honeysuckle-Haskap (Lonicera caerulea) WILLA®

Haskap Berry 'Willa®' (Honeyberry)

A versatile American licensed variety featuring large, uniform fruits, ideal for mechanical harvesting and the processing industry.

'Willa®' is a modern, versatile American variety that represents another successful result of Maxine M. Thompson's breeding program. It originates from the USA (Corvallis, Oregon state). It is a legally protected licensed variety within the European Union (PBR - Plant Breeders' Rights), registered for legal protection at the CPVO (application number: 20180766). It is valued for its large, firm, and visually very uniform fruits with a high sugar content. Thanks to the ideal fruit attachment strength (they do not drop spontaneously but can be easily shaken off), it is a perfect variety for mechanical harvesting. It is a reliable choice for commercial plantations focused on processing, as well as for home growers.

Key advantages of the variety:

• Ideal for mechanical harvest: This is a key feature of the variety. The fruits hold onto the branches firmly enough not to drop before harvest, but loosely enough to be mechanically harvested (shaken off) without damaging the skin.
• Uniform ripening: The fruits ripen uniformly, which greatly facilitates the harvest.
• High sugar content and flavor: Characterized by a high sugar content (Brix value reaches 15 °). The taste is pleasant, mildly tart to sweet-tart.
• Excellent storability: The fruits have outstanding post-harvest shelf life. In cold storage (at 0 °C to 1 °C), they retain their appearance, firmness, and flavor for at least 14 days. They also withstand transport very well.

Fruit and Harvest

• Appearance: Large and very uniform fruits (length 1.8 to 2 cm, width 1.4 to 1.5 cm, average weight 2 g). The shape is spherical to oval-round. The color is intensely dark blue, covered with a layer of natural waxy bloom.
• Flesh and scar: The flesh is firm, juicy, and aromatic. The stem scar is dry (the fruit stem is short).
• Harvest period: Mid-early variety. The fruits ripen approximately 60 days from full bloom (according to the breeder's data, in mid-June).
• Yield: Regular, average.
• Utility: Versatile (universal). The variety is primarily dedicated to the processing industry (production of juices, jams, freezing, drying), but thanks to its high sugar content, it is also excellent for fresh consumption.

Cultivation and Resistance

• Habit and growth: Growth is moderately vigorous. The habit is upright and slightly spreading. After 7 years of cultivation, it reaches a height of approximately 1.7 m and a width of 1.5 m. The bush maintains good health and an attractive shape.
• Hardiness: Extremely high. The plant is fully adapted for cultivation in USDA climate zone 3 (tolerates temperatures well below -30 °C).
• Disadvantages and notes: The variety is cross-pollinated (strictly requires planting with another simultaneously blooming variety). The reported yield is average compared to other modern varieties (e.g., 'Maxine's Opus'). A licensed protected variety (commercial propagation is restricted).