Bearberry vs Flowering Raspberry - TreeTime.ca

Bearberry vs Flowering Raspberry

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Rubus odoratus

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Bearberry
Flowering Raspberry

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.

The Flowering Raspberry is an ornamental shrubby plant that blooms with fragrant light purple flowers throughout the summer and has a large, decorative foliage of bright green leaves. The flowers resemble that of a wildrose, and the foliage turns a bright yellow in the fall. This cultivar produces small red raspberries, similar to that of a thimbleberry, but the fruit is mostly tasteless.

The Flowering Raspberry, also known as Virginia Raspberry or Purple-Flowered Raspberry, makes a great hedge plant and is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard.

Bearberry Quick Facts

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Suckering: medium
Suckering: high


Foliage: leathery, evergreen
Bark: thornless orange
Flowers: small, purple-white
Flowers: purple
Berries: small red berries
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Firmness: firm
Flavor: tasteless
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Native to: ON, QC, NS
Other Names: kinnikinnick, mealberry, sandberry
Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry