Common Blueberry vs Thimbleberry - TreeTime.ca

Common Blueberry vs Thimbleberry

Vaccinium myrtilloides

Rubus parviflorus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Common Blueberry
Thimbleberry

Common Blueberry is an August maturing berry that is wonderfully flavorful and contain more antioxidants by volume than the highbush varieties.
They'll give your baked goods a wonderful pop of flavor.

It isn't as large, pretty, or high yielding as the other varieties we carry. But Common Blueberry is one of the only blueberries that will survive in plant hardiness zones 1A to 2B.

Note: Blueberries require very specific soil conditions. They need well-drained soil with a pH between 4.5 and 5.0.

Thimbleberry is an ornamental shrub with large, green maple-like-leaves. Flowers are attractive, fragrant, and turn into red-raspberry-like berries. The berries are good for jams, cakes, breads, muffins etc. If you remove the berry, the core resembles a thimble, giving this shrub its namesake.

Common Blueberry Quick Facts

Thimbleberry Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 4a
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: any
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Suckering: none
Suckering: none


Foliage: Soft leaves up to 8 inches across
Fall colour: yellow, orange, and red
Fall colour: gold
Flowers: white
Flowers: white, showy
Berries: blue
Berries: edible, red, similar to raspberries
Firmness: medium
Flavor: tart
Harvest: late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, NT, PE
Native to: AB, BC, ON
Other Names: canadian blueberry, sourtop blueberry, velvetleaf blueberry, velvetleaf huckleberry
Other Names: thimbleberry, western thimbleberry