Bog Cranberry (Lingonberry) vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Bog Cranberry (Lingonberry) vs Bilberry

Vaccinium vitis-idaea

Vaccinium myrtillus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Bog Cranberry (Lingonberry)
Bilberry

Bog Cranberry is a native, ground cover species. These plants generally produce one crop per year in summer. Plants may spread 3 feet in width forming a dense mat which makes it attractive as an ornamental ground cover.

Wild crops of Bog Cranberry are harvested each year in Newfoundland (more than 200,000 lbs/yr). Harvest of wild fruit can no longer keep up with demand. In Europe, 80 million pounds per year of this crop is grown or harvested from the wild.

Bog Cranberry flowers are similar in shape to those of blueberry and may be white or pink in color. These berries are considered to be highly flavored but not as tart as cranberries.

Check out our YouTube video of this plant in the fall: Fall Bog Cranberry.

American Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub known for its clusters of small black berries that ripen in mid-to-late summer. The berries are edible and have long been used for fresh eating, preserves, and baking. They provide food for birds and mammals, and their fragrant spring flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

American Black Currant’s foliage serves as a host plant for butterfly species such as the Green Comma and Gray Comma, and its dense branching offers cover for wildlife. The shrub has traditionally been planted in shelterbelts, riparian buffers, and restoration projects.

Bog Cranberry (Lingonberry) Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.2 m (0.7 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: low


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Flowers: white or pink
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: tart, cranberry-like
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: late summer to early fall
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
Other Names: cowberry, dry ground cranberry, fox berry, foxberry, lingonberry, northern mountain cranberry, partridgeberry, rock cranberry, wolf berry, wolf-berry
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry