Pygmy Caragana vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Pygmy Caragana vs Bilberry

Caragana pygmaea

Vaccinium myrtillus

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Pygmy Caragana
Bilberry

Pygmy Caragana is a shrub that is related to Common Caragana and has a compact size that is suitable for yards with limited space. Its size is perfect for landscaping and decorative hedges, and requires little maintenance. This nitrogen fixer has fine-textured foliage and small yellow flowers. Much like Common Caragana, it is hardy and drought tolerant.

Popular as a low maintenance commercial landscaping shrub and for hedging. This species does have tiny spines that might poke you a bit. It has a nice appealing texture when mature.

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.

Pygmy Caragana Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: none


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Flowers: prolific tiny yellow pea-like flowers
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Seeds: prolific seedpods are edible
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


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