Thimbleberry vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Thimbleberry vs Falsebox

Rubus parviflorus

Paxistima myrsinites

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

Thimbleberry
Falsebox

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.

Falsebox is a hardy, native evergreen shrub found in forests, rocky slopes, and open woodland sites. Though small and easily overlooked among the leaves, the maroon flowers still supply nectar and pollen for pollinators such as native bees and flies. Blooming in spring, they provide an important early-season food source. Its year-round greenery adds visual interest through the winter.

Falsebox is a low-growing shrub that tolerates a wide range of conditions, including drought once established. It thrives particularly well beneath the shade of mature trees, where few other plants succeed. With its resilience and ecological value, Falsebox is well-suited for naturalization, restoration projects, and diverse landscape plantings.

Thimbleberry Quick Facts

Falsebox Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 5a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: any
Moisture: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: none


Foliage: Soft leaves up to 8 inches across
Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Fall colour: gold
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: white, showy
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Berries: edible, red, similar to raspberries
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, ON
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: thimbleberry, western thimbleberry
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood