Neon Flash Spiraea vs Small Cranberry

Neon Flash Spiraea is a colorful, low maintenance, and multi-purpose shrub.

Late spring to fall you'll be drawn to its vibrant neon red blooms that rest on a neat mound of green foliage. If deer and rabbit are an issue on your property, consider planting Neon Flash Spiraea for its deer/rabbit resistance. Its tolerance of a variety of well-drained soils makes it an ideal foundation, landscaping, or border plant.

Small Cranberry is a native evergreen groundcover found in bogs, fens, and wet meadows. It produces delicate pink flowers that attract a variety of pollinators, including bees, and it serves as both a nectar source and host plant for the Bog Fritillary (Boloria eunomia) butterfly. By late summer, the plant bears deep red berries that are eaten by both wildlife and people. With their high pectin content, the berries are well-suited for making jams and jellies.

Often creeping among sphagnum moss, Small Cranberry thrives in cold, acidic, and nutrient-poor soils (pH 2.9–4.7), making it well adapted to northern wetland environments. With its woody stems, it is technically classified as a shrub and often described as a subshrub or dwarf shrub. It is also valuable for wetland restoration and naturalisation projects.

Note: We use Small Cranberry for Vaccinium oxycoccos. This species is also known by many other common names, including Bog Cranberry, Small Bog Cranberry, and others. Please confirm the scientific name to ensure you are ordering the correct plant.

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