Thanks Angelika, and they even ship to Canada, for seeds. Nifty.
Buying plants without any chance to try eating them is definitely a gamble. We've got 6 Haskap that have produced an utterly pathetic amount of barely-palatable fruit; they're on probation. Beyond that, Chilean Guava, a couple Hardy Kiwi and several types of gooseberry are all gambles tastewise; hoping to taste the Chilean Guava and gooseberries this year. At least with fruit I'm hopeful that it will all be OK in a
pie mixed with other things!
I've also just planted one of those Aronia Prunifolias that you're bemoaning! Ours was a named cultivar 'Nero'; is this the same one you have?
I have heard that seabuckthorn is quite variable in fruit quality; is yours a named cultivar?
This is one of the big obstacles with the harder to find plants; getting a tasty cultivar, rather than a seedling. If most
apple trees sold were grown from seed, I don't think
apple trees would be very popular! And yet, for many of these plants, there is substantial variation in fruit quality, but named cultivars are not yet available here. Physalis peruviana supposedly has quite a few named cultivars, with big differences, but Aunt Molly's is the only one to be found. Hardy Kiwi has a huge variety; lots are available in the states, but very few up here...
Location can really change a crop, too; Himalayan blackberry grows well on my parents
land, but produces fairly unappetizing, small, seedy berries most years; not enough water, and we don't irrigate it as we have other priorities for the water, and don't want it to spread even more. Yet, on other sites nearby, it can produce an amazing bounty of delicious, juicy berries with the same lack of attention!
Nuts are even worse; it's going to be a long time, and a lot of work protecting young trees from the
deer, before I find out if the yellowhorn and hardy pecan I just bought will produce on this site, and if they're any good if they do!