Bearberry vs Early Blue Violet - TreeTime.ca

Bearberry vs Early Blue Violet

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Viola adunca

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Bearberry
Early Blue Violet

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.

Early Blue Violet is a low-growing native perennial wildflower valued for its striking early-spring blooms. The flowers range in color from vibrant blue to deep violet, often marked with pale highlights and fine white hairs. They provide an important early nectar source for pollinators and serve as a host plant for several fritillary butterfly species.

It spreads by both seed and rhizomes, gradually forming small colonies. Its dark green, heart-shaped leaves add ornamental appeal, and the plant shows some resistance to deer browsing. Early Blue Violet is well-suited to naturalization projects and pollinator-friendly gardens, and has also been used in coastal butterfly habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest.

Bearberry Quick Facts

Early Blue Violet Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 2a
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium, rhizomes - medium
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: rhizomes, fruit, seed poisonous to humans
Foliage: leathery, evergreen
Flowers: small, purple-white
Flowers: purple to blue-violet
Bloom time: mid spring to early summer
Berries: small red berries
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: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, YT, NT
Other Names: kinnikinnick, mealberry, sandberry
Other Names: dog violet, hookedspur violet, sand violet, western blue violet