Berries and Vines

Species: Aronia melanocarpa

History: Galicjanka was developed in Poland where Aronia berries are a common agricultural crop. It is one of the most popular varieties grown there due to its suitability for commercial plantations.

Why We Grow It: This variety produces large berries with good flavour. While the berries ripen in August, they can hang onto the bush for a couple months and tend to sweeten over time. Despite its popularity in Poland, it is unfortunately not very common in North America. 

Species: Ribes nigrum

History: This black currant is a family classic that was grown by Ken's great-grandmother.

Why We Grow It: Grandma Ethel produces large fruit with a slightly stronger flavour than Titania and an unusual sweetness for a currant. The berries make a very tasty juice - the recipe can be found further below!

A note on the "Grandma" Series: Inspired by this modest currants' success here at the nursery, we decided to curate our own repertoire of family favourites! Check out our tried-n-true gooseberries, rhubarb and raspberries.

Species: Viburnum trilobum

History: Highbush Cranberry is actually a viburnum and not a cranberry, despite its name. It earned its name due to the resemblance of the berries to cranberries in appearance and flavour. This shrub is native across southern Canada and and the northeastern US, and in sporadic locations in the prairies and BC. The berries have traditionally been used by indigenous peoples and European colonizers alike. 

Why We Grow It: Fans of cranberries will enjoy this native plant! The bright red berries are high in vitamin C and can be eaten fresh, although like regular cranberries are best when made into sauces and preserves. They do contain a fairly large pit that has to be removed beforehand though! The shrub itself gets about 4m tall and has ornamental appeal with its showy white 'flowers' (they are actually bracts surrounding the smaller clusters of flowers within).  

Species: Ribes x nidigrolaria, a cross between Ribes nigrum (black currants), Ribes divaracitum (black gooseberries), and Ribes uva-crispa (European gooseberries)

History: Jostaberries were created in West Germany in 1955 by Dr. Rudolph Bauer, although attempts to cross these three plants had begun as early as 1883 without success. They were eventually released to the public in 1977.

Why We Grow It: Jostaberries are a unique cross between three plants: black currants, black gooseberries, and European gooseberries. The berries taste like gooseberries at first and transition to a black currant taste as they ripen and darken. 

Species: Hippophae rhamnoides

History: Aside from the fact that Klavdija sea buckthorn originated in Russia, little can be found about the origins of this variety in English. 

Why We Grow It: Klavdija, like other Russian-bred sea buckthorns, is noted for its excellent flavour that is on the sweeter side. The bush produces good crops and, unlike other Russian varieties, boasts moderate drought resistance.  

Species: Amelanchier alnifolia (aka Western Serviceberry)

History: Northline was developed by John Wallace at Beaverlodge Nursery in Beaverlodge, Alberta during the 1950s. Selected for its large berries and good flavour, Northline was later introduced in 1960.

Why We Grow It: Northline's large, sweet purpley-blue berries are excellent enjoyed fresh! Northline grows in an upright fashion and reaches about 2.5m tall, this making for an ideal u-pick bush. The fragrant showy flowers add aesthetic charm to the bush, along with the deep green foliage which turns fiery orange in the fall. Saskatoons by nature are slow growing, and while they will bear fruit in 3-5 years, it can take up to 15 years for a full crop.

Species: Ribes uva-crispa x Ribes missouriense

History: Pixwell was developed at the North Dakota Experiment Station in a gooseberry breeding program that began in 1920. A cross between Oregon Champion and Ribes missouriense, the variety was eventually released in 1932. Pixwell was named for it's less thorny nature - as in smaller and less thorns than most gooseberries, especially as it grows older - which makes it easier to pick the berries.

Why We Grow It: Aside from living up to its name, Pixwell produces green berries that turn a lovely shade of pink to deep plummy-purple-red once they are fully ripe - though you can use the green berries for tangy chutneys and the pink stage is nice fresh too. The medium berries have sweet flesh and tart skin, and are great for fresh eating, pies, and preserving.

Species: Hippophae rhamnoides

History: Pollmix sea buckthorn was developed as a series of clones to aid in the pollination of female sea buckthorn plants. It is a German cultivar.

Why We Grow It: Although Pollmix does not produce berries, it is a good option for pollinating female varieties! Aside from that, the attractive silvery green leaves can make this shrub an appealing plant to have in the yard, and it is also good for erosion control or creating windbreaks.

Species: Sambucus canadensis

History: York was developed at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York in 1964. It is a cross between the varieties Adams 2 and Ezyoff.

Why We Grow It: York is known for producing exceptionally large berries that are quite flavourful. This variety is also quite productive, a good choice for fans of these delightful dark purple berries! Eating the raw elderberries can cause adverse reactions so it is recommended that you cook them first.

Species: Lonicera caerulea

History: Indigo Gem was bred by Bob Bors at the University of Saskatchewan as part of the Indigo Series, a series of five varieties that all share the same parents. They were bred sometime in the mid to late 2000s and released around 2010/2011. Indigo Gem is the most productive variety of the series.

Why We Grow It: Indigo Gem produces fairly round berries that are sweeter and smaller than most haskaps, although they still have that characteristic tartness to them! It is considered one of the better options for fresh eating and like other haskaps is also great in baking, making preserves, etc. 

Species: Rubus sp

History: Hardy Black originated in Nova Scotia. As the name implies, the variety was selected for its hardiness along with excellent fruit. 

Why We Grow It: This hardy variety produces large, dark berries that are sweet and juicy. To make it even better, they bear fruit over a long period of time which gives you that much more of an opportunity to enjoy these lovely berries.

Species: Rubus sp.

History: Anne is the product of quite the combined efforts between the University of Maryland, Rutgers University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Education Center, and University of Wisconsin. Through their cooperative breeding program, the cross that created Anne was originally made in 1989 and the variety was released in the 1990s. It remains one of the more popular yellow raspberries today. 

Why We Grow It: Anne produces large, firm raspberries that are quite sweet with a flavour some liken to apricots or bananas. Most uniquely: the berries are yellow, turning a warm orangey-yellow at their ripest! The berries are good for eating fresh, baking, freezing, or adding to salads and their yellow colour helps them to stand out. This is an everbearing variety so you can cut down the canes in the winter for a large fall crop, or enjoy a more spread out crop from August to September. Anne also sports relatively few thorns, making harvesting a little easier. 

Species: Hippophae rhamnoides

History: Sunny (known originally in Russian as Botanicheskaya Ljubitelskaya) was first developed in Russia and was further tested and introduced by Latvian agronomists who gave it the name Sunny (aka Solnechnaya with 'solnech' meaning 'sunny' and 'naya' being a female suffix). It was selected for its large berries and high juice content, making it a good option for commercial growing for comestible products. Commercially, it is the most widely grown sea buckthorn variety in central and eastern Europe.

Why We Grow It: Sunny produces large berries that are lower in acidity than most other varieties, giving them a comparatively sweeter (but still sour!) taste. They also have a higher juice content than other sea buckthorn berries, making them a great option for those looking to process them into juice or other sea buckthorn products. 

Species: Hippophae rhamnoides

History: Tatiana (aka Tatjana) was developed in Latvia by renowned professor of agriculture Andrejs Bruvelis. The large berries, high oil content, and long harvest period have made it a popular commercial variety, particularly in the nutraceutical industry.

Why We Grow It: Tatiana produces large berries with a distinctly dark orange/reddish tinge. They are high in acidity so there is a strong sourness paired with their otherwise pleasant flavour, making them a great option for using in food or beverages. They are also quite high in oil which is said to beneficial for hair and skin. 

2026/2027 Staff Favourite

Black Velvet is Wayne's favourite this year! He has been waiting a while to select this variety as his personal favourite: "Black Velvet was what I had hoped to choose as my staff favourite last year, but we didn’t have any to sell! This year we do, and it’s my favourite of our gooseberries - I find it’s a little sweeter and more flavourful; really great for fresh eating.”

All Staff Favourites are 20% off. The Staff Favourite Discount cannot be combined with other quantity discounts.

Species: Ribes uva-crispa x Ribes divaricatum

History: There appears to be little information on the origin of Black Velvet. It is a hybrid between the European gooseberry (R. uva-crispa) and the closely related worcesterberry (R. divaricatum), a plant native to North America. As a result of its mixed parentage, Black Velvet has unique characteristics such as dark-skinned fruit, excellent disease resistance, and notable cold hardiness. 

Why We Grow It: Black Velvet produces large numbers of dark reddish-purple berries with an excellent, fruity flavour that isn't too tart. It is great for fresh eating as well as making jams and jellies. This is an easy to grow plant with good cold hardiness and disease resistance.

Species: Vitis sp. (hybrid)

History: Canadice is a cross between Bath and Himrod that was first bred in 1954 at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York. Selected for its seedless nature and cold hardiness, it was released in 1977. The variety was named for Canadice Lake, one of the nearby Finger Lakes.

Why We Grow It: Canadice produces seedless red grapes that are sweet with a hint of spice. The fruit is best known for fresh-eating but it can also be used for jellies, juice and wine. Although this is one of the more cold hardy varieties of seedless grape, it may still suffer winter injury in a particularly cold year. 

Species: Vitis labrusca x V. vinifera

History: Concord was created by Ephraim Bull in Massachusetts. In 1843, he began breeding wild V. labrusca grapes, occasionally hybridizing them with V. vinifera, in an effort to breed a good quality grape that could survive a colder climate. After growing 22,000 seedlings, he found one that fit what he was looking for. He named it Concord after the town where his farm was located and introduced it in 1854. In 1869, Dr. Thomas Welch created pasteurized Concord grape juice that prevented fermentation, marketing it as a non-alcoholic substitute for Communion wine. This business eventually became the Welch's company that still exists today. By 1923, Concord became the most commonly grown commercial grape in North America and although its status has fallen somewhat, it is still commonly grown and used in many grape products. The distinct colour of the grapes is also the reason why grape-flavoured products are coloured purple!

Why We Grow It: Concord produces dark blue slipskin grapes that are aromatic with a sweet flavour. This hardy, vigorous variety is great for fresh eating, baking, and jelly and is suitable for juice and wine as well. The grapes do contain a large seed.

Species: Vitis sp. (hybrid)

History: Frontenac was bred by renowned cold hardy grape breeder Elmer Swenson at the University of Minnesota. It was released in 1996 and since then has become commonly planted in Canada and northeastern America where other wine grapes will not perform as well.

Why We Grow It: Frontenac produces a blue grape that is best used for wine-making. It is suitable for rosés, dry red wines, and fortified wines such as port. It is high in both acidity and sugar, producing a balanced wine with a nice colour.

Species: Actinidia arguta

History: Anna (aka Ananasnaya or Michurin's Pineapple) was created by Soviet plant breeder I.V. Michurin likely in the late 1800s or early 1900s. He created Anna, along with many other varieties, with the goal of breeding high-yielding plants of better quality that are more cold hardy. The flavour is reminiscent of pineapple so he named it Ananasnaya after the genus Ananas (which includes pineapples) and 'naya', a feminine suffix in Russian. Shortened to 'Anna' in North America, this variety remains commercially popular for its easy growth and propagation and reliable crops. 

Why We Grow It: Anna produces kiwis with a distinct red blush (with enough sun exposure) that are sweet with a little tartness. The flavour is tropical with hints of pineapple and citrus. These vigorous vines require a trellis or other support to climb across. Make sure you have a suitable support in place, a mature plant can produce over 50lb of fruit in one season!

Species: Lonicera caerulea

History: Chito was created by Dr. Maxine Thompson who collected open-pollinated seeds from berry farms in Hokkaido, Japan in 2000. The seeds were planted in Oregon and evaluated. Chito was selected in 2014 for its open growth habit, vigour, yield, and fruit quality. 

Why We Grow It: Chito produces a large, sweet/tart, ovate berry with a milder flavour than other haskaps. Like other haskaps they are good for fresh eating, baking, and making jam/jelly. This vigorous shrub has a more open growth habit than other varieties, making the fruit easier to see and harvest.