Red Currant vs Bog Cranberry (Lingonberry) - TreeTime.ca

Red Currant vs Bog Cranberry (Lingonberry)

Ribes rubrum

Vaccinium vitis-idaea

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON

Red Currant
Bog Cranberry (Lingonberry)

Red Currant is a deciduous shrub native to western Europe. It features five-lobed, maple-like leaves, and bright red berries that can be used in jams, sauces, and fresh eating.

Although this shrub is self-fertile, it will be more productive if another pollinator is present. For year over year high yields, ensure you fertilize (bone meal), prune, and mulch your Red Currant shrub.

Bog Cranberry is a native, ground cover species. These plants generally produce one crop per year in summer. Plants may spread 3 feet in width forming a dense mat which makes it attractive as an ornamental ground cover.

Wild crops of Bog Cranberry are harvested each year in Newfoundland (more than 200,000 lbs/yr). Harvest of wild fruit can no longer keep up with demand. In Europe, 80 million pounds per year of this crop is grown or harvested from the wild.

Bog Cranberry flowers are similar in shape to those of blueberry and may be white or pink in color. These berries are considered to be highly flavored but not as tart as cranberries.

Check out our YouTube video of this plant in the fall: Fall Bog Cranberry.

Red Currant Quick Facts

Bog Cranberry (Lingonberry) Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.7 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no
Berries: tart, cranberry-like
Flowers: white or pink
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Maintenance: medium
Suckering: none
Suckering: low




Other Names: cowberry, dry ground cranberry, fox berry, foxberry, lingonberry, northern mountain cranberry, partridgeberry, rock cranberry, wolf berry, wolf-berry