Flowering Raspberry vs Mountain Huckleberry - TreeTime.ca

Flowering Raspberry vs Mountain Huckleberry

Rubus odoratus

Vaccinium membranaceum

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Flowering Raspberry
Mountain Huckleberry

The Flowering Raspberry is an ornamental shrubby plant that blooms with fragrant light purple flowers throughout the summer and has a large, decorative foliage of bright green leaves. The flowers resemble that of a wildrose, and the foliage turns a bright yellow in the fall. This cultivar produces small red raspberries, similar to that of a thimbleberry, but the fruit is mostly tasteless.

The Flowering Raspberry, also known as Virginia Raspberry or Purple-Flowered Raspberry, makes a great hedge plant and is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard.

Mountain Huckleberry is a small shrub known for its tart to sweet berries. The berries range from purple-black to red-black, and can be eaten fresh or used in jams and syrups. It is a plant native to Alberta and the berries are frequently enjoyed by both people and wildlife.

In traditional Indigenous fire management practices, berry patches were burned after harvest. This would reduce the invasion of other plants allowing the Mountain Huckleberry to thrive. Its foliage has low flammability and can survive low severity fires, and even if destroyed they regrow from the roots.

Note: Mountain Huckleberry requires specific soil conditions. They need moist, well-drained, acidic soil with a pH around 5.5.

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Mountain Huckleberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 5a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Moisture: normal
Moisture: any
Light: any
Light: full sun
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Berries: dark purple
Firmness: firm
Flavor: tasteless
Flavor: sweet, acidic
Harvest: mid to late summer
Flowers: purple
Bark: thornless orange
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: high
Suckering: high




Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry
Other Names: big huckleberry, black huckleberry, tall bilberry, thinleaf huckleberry