Bearberry vs Golden Currant - TreeTime.ca

Bearberry vs Golden Currant

Ribes aureum

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON

Golden Currant
Bearberry

Golden Currant produces berries for jams, jellies, sauces and even pemmican. This currant bush is very dense, allowing for use as a hedge, windbreak, or wildlife habitat.

This plant is also a very popular rootstock to graft popular red and white currant varieties to. The resulting plants are taller, more productive, and easier to harvest.

Bearberry is a dwarf shrub known for its creamy pink flowers and red edible fruits.

It is great as a filler in gardens and flowerbeds in place of invasive ground cover plants, like English Ivy.

Bearberry will attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees to your property. It is one of the top 12 plants recommended by the Alberta Native Bee Council to support pollinators.

Note:This species is currently unavailable. Grow your own using Bearberry seeds at SeedTime.ca.

Golden Currant Quick Facts

Bearberry Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 1b
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no
Fall colour: reddish purple
Berries: glossy black berries
Berries: small red berries
Flowers: yellow
Flowers: small, purple-white
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Suckering: medium
Suckering: medium




Other Names: buffalo currant, clove currant, fragrant golden currant, golden flowering currant, spicebush
Other Names: kinnikinnick, mealberry, sandberry