Cultivar 2267: ‘Boreal Beauty’

‘Boreal Beauty’ is a University of Saskatchewan haskap cultivar with very late ripening, large firm berries, and an upright bush suited to mechanical harvest. The University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program sheet is credited to Bob Bors and lists the cultivar as available in 2017. [S1]

Season is its main distinction. In 2014, the fruit was fully ripe about a month after most haskap varieties had finished. The source says it ripens after Saskatoon berries and with the program’s dwarf sour cherries. In Saskatoon in 2014, it tasted good from late July to early August, and the berries became soft in the third week of August. [S1]

The berries are heavy, firm, thick, and meaty. They are mostly oval, but some have tips that make the largest fruit look heart shaped. Listed fruit weight is 2.6 g average and 3.7 g maximum. The fruit has excellent flavour, with 2014 measurements of 16.9 Brix and 1.87 total acidity. [S1]

The bush is very strong, upright, sturdy, and highly productive. The source notes that, unlike most large fruited haskaps in the program, its branches stay upright instead of bending over. It also reports excellent fruit firmness, no signs of mildew, and plant and berry traits that match the author’s criteria for mechanical harvest. [S1]

No direct hardiness zone rating is given. The evidence places the cultivar in the University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program, with observations from Saskatoon and a suggested need for more testing where later bloom might improve adaptation in warmer locations. [S1]

Direct named parents are not given. The source lists the breeder denomination as ‘21-12-11.5’, Plant Breeders Rights application number 14-8411, and lineage as 37.5% Japanese, 37.5% Russian, and 25% Kurile haskap ancestry. [S1]

The source gives a mixed view of the heart shaped berries. Their irregular shape may be a disadvantage, but it could also be charming for fresh sales. Bors also writes that he wished he had early and mid-season ripening versions of this variety. [S1]

Summary source basis

• S1: ‘Boreal Beauty’

This summary currently draws chiefly from ‘Boreal Beauty’, with 2 additional supporting sources linked below.

Selected source quotations

“Boreal Beauty (above) • JRK hybrid with open pollination involved • 2.6 g average fruit with 3.7 g max • 2nd heaviest fruit on the market • Ripens 3 to 4 week after our previous varieties”
— Breeding the Boreal Series of Haskap (Lonicera caerulea), p1

“‘Boreal Beauty’ is an exciting new haskap that opens up an entirely new season for Haskap growers: It had fruit fully ripe a month after most varieties were finished in 2014!”
— ‘Boreal Beauty’, p1

“Boreal Beauty: This is a major breakthrough in late ripening Haskap. In Saskatoon it ripens the first week of August.”
— Recommended fruit Varieties, p1

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Boreal Beauty (above) • JRK hybrid with open pollination involved • 2.6 g average fruit with 3.7 g max • 2nd heaviest fruit on the market • Ripens 3 to 4 week after our previous varietiesBreeding the Boreal Series of Haskap (Lonicera caerulea), p1
• Boreal Beauty (above) • JRK hybrid with open pollination involved • 2.6 g average fruit with 3.7 g max • 2nd heaviest fruit on the market • Ripens 3 to 4 week after our previous varietiesBreeding the Boreal Series of Haskap (Lonicera caerulea), p1
• Boreal Beauty (above) • JRK hybrid with open pollination involved • 2.6 g average fruit with 3.7 g max • 2nd heaviest fruit on the market • Ripens 3 to 4 week after our previous varietiesBreeding the Boreal Series of Haskap (Lonicera caerulea), p1
• Boreal Beauty (above) • JRK hybrid with open pollination involved • 2.6 g average fruit with 3.7 g max • 2nd heaviest fruit on the market • Ripens 3 to 4 week after our previous varietiesBreeding the Boreal Series of Haskap (Lonicera caerulea), p1

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context