Patriot Blueberry vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Patriot Blueberry vs Bilberry

Vaccinium corymbosum Patriot

Vaccinium myrtillus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

Patriot Blueberry
Bilberry

The Patriot Blueberry offers the largest fruit of all the early season blueberries and thrives in an acidic soil with a low pH. With fruit that can easily grow to the size of a quarter, you'll be known for having the largest blueberries for miles. The Patriot Blueberry is ideal for fresh eating, baking, and preserving. Cold hardy and self-pollinating, the Patriot Blueberry is also resistant to root rot.

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.

Patriot Blueberry Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 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: medium
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Fall colour: red to deep red
Flowers: white, pink tinged
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: edible blue
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Firmness: firm
Flavor: sweet, mild
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: July
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: patriot highbush blueberry, patriot northern highbush blueberry
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry