Wentworth Highbush Cranberry vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Wentworth Highbush Cranberry vs Bilberry

Viburnum trilobum Wentworth

Vaccinium myrtillus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

Wentworth Highbush Cranberry
Bilberry

Wentworth Highbush Cranberry is an ample producer that will make you think of the perfect cranberry sauce when you see it. Its huge fruit is delectable in jellies and sauces. In the spring it bears clusters of white flowers, contrasted against green vegetation that turns a rich red in the fall. Magnificent in garden borders or mass planting, you’ll appreciate your cranberry on your table and in your yard.

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.

Wentworth Highbush Cranberry Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 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: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: none


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Fall colour: brilliant red
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: 12mm, edible red berries
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
Other Names: wentworth redwing cranberry
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry