Bearberry vs Golden Currant - TreeTime.ca

Bearberry vs Golden Currant

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Ribes aureum

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Bearberry
Golden Currant

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.

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 Quick Facts

Golden Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 4a
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: medium
Suckering: medium


Foliage: leathery, evergreen
Fall colour: reddish purple
Flowers: small, purple-white
Flowers: yellow
Berries: small red berries
Berries: glossy black berries
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


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