Jahns Prairie Gooseberry vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Jahns Prairie Gooseberry vs Bilberry

Ribes oxyacanthoides Jahns Prairie

Vaccinium myrtillus

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Jahns Prairie Gooseberry
Bilberry

Jahns Prairie Gooseberry produces large, delicious red fruit.

Found in the Red Deer River valley by Dr. Otto Jahn in 1984. This cultivar was found to resist insects and disease, tolerate frost, and produce high quality fruit.

Bilberry is a native perennial shrub valued for its small, blue-black berries that ripen in mid to late summer. The berries resemble blueberries but have a richer, more tart, and intense flavor. They have long been used for fresh eating, baking, and preserves, while also providing food for birds and mammals. In spring, its delicate pinkish flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

Growing low to the ground, Bilberry forms spreading colonies that create dense understory cover. This growth habit provides food and shelter for wildlife, and its foliage adds seasonal interest by turning red to purple in autumn. With its adaptability and ecological benefits, Bilberry is well-suited for naturalization, ecological restoration, and pollinator gardens.

Jahns Prairie Gooseberry Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: none


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Fall colour: yellow
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: red-pink berries
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: mid to late July
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry