DESCRIPTION: Hardy shrub with edible large, oblong shaped blue fruit in late spring. Good for eating fresh, baking, jams and jellies. Requires cross pollination with another honeyberry or sweetberry.

BOTANICAL NAME: Lonicera caerulea var. edulis sp. 'Cinderella'
AVERAGE MATURE HEIGHT: 1.5 Meters
AVERAGE MATURE SPREAD: 1.5 Meters
SUN EXPOSURE: Full sun to partial shade
FLOWER COLOUR: Creamy white
FLOWERING TIME: Early spring
FOLIAGE COLOUR: Green
COLD HARDINESS: Zone 2 ( Should survive up to -42.7° Celsius )
WATER NEEDS: Average - Drought tolerant
OTHER FEATURES: Attracts Butterflies & Birds, Edible

Edible Qualities

Cinderella Honeyberry is a small shrub that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces blue round berries which are usually ready for picking from late spring to early summer. The berries have a sweet taste.

The berries are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Preserves

Features & Attributes

Cinderella Honeyberry features subtle creamy white flowers along the branches in early spring. It has green foliage throughout the season. The narrow leaves do not develop any appreciable fall colour. It features an abundance of magnificent blue berries in late spring.

This is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Cinderella Honeyberry is suitable for the following landscape applications:

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Cinderella Honeyberry will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. While it is considered to be somewhat self-pollinating, it tends to set heavier quantities of fruit with a different variety of the same species growing nearby.

This shrub is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated edibles garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments.