Bunchberry vs Bluebunch Wheatgrass - TreeTime.ca

Bunchberry vs Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Cornus canadensis

Pseudoroegneria spicata (Agropyron spicatum)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

Bunchberry
Bluebunch Wheatgrass

The Bunchberry, or Quatre-Temps as it is commonly known in Quebec, is an excellent ornamental plant to have in your garden. With star-shaped white flowers in spring and clusters of bright red berries in the fall, this is one of the most refined and hardy groundcovers available. The foliage has ornamental value, with leaves going from a deep green in the spring and summer to a beautiful brick-red in the fall.

Bunchberry is a spreading evergreen perennial with a ground-hugging habit of growth. This plant is not well suited for urban areas close to streetsides, as it is quite intolerant to pollution. It is Canada’s national flower.

According to a poll done by the Master Gardeners of Ontario, it is one of the most recognizable Canadian flowers.

Its flowers grow with elastic petals and "fire" its pollen with the force of 2000-3000 times the force of gravity.

Bluebunch Wheatgrass is a native perennial bunchgrass common across prairies, foothills, and open woodlands. Longer-lived than many other grass species, it develops deep, fibrous roots that stabilize soils and make it drought-tolerant once established. It is a cool-season grass, growing most actively in spring and fall and slowing during the heat of summer.

This hardy grass provides excellent forage for deer, elk, and bighorn sheep, and is especially palatable to livestock. Its seeds feed birds and small mammals, while its bunching growth offers protective cover for ground-nesting birds such as sparrows and sage-grouse, as well as shelter for small mammals. Bluebunch Wheatgrass is well-suited to rangeland & prairie restoration, naturalization, and erosion control projects.

Bunchberry Quick Facts

Bluebunch Wheatgrass Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.2 m (0.6 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Spreading: tillering - high, seeds - medium
Suckering: medium


Fall colour: brick red
Flowers: white
Berries: small, red
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: August/September
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, YT