Flowering Raspberry vs Fireweed - TreeTime.ca

Flowering Raspberry vs Fireweed

Rubus odoratus

Chamaenerion angustifolium (Epilobium angustifolium)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Flowering Raspberry
Fireweed

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.

Fireweed is a native perennial wildflower known for its tall spikes of bright pink to purple blooms. Its long-lasting summer flowers are an important nectar source for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, while its seeds provide food for birds. Its showy, long-lasting display makes it visually striking in naturalized plantings.

Fireweed gets its namesake because it is often one of the first species to return after wildfires, supporting ecosystem recovery. Its wind-dispersed seeds allow it to spread readily, making it highly effective in large-scale restoration, revegetation, and naturalization projects.
Fireweed is the Provincial Flower of the Yukon.

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Fireweed Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 1a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, dense, colony-forming
Spreading: seeds - high, rhizomes - high
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high
Maintenance: medium


Bark: thornless orange
Flowers: purple
Flowers: pink-purple spikes
Bloom time: mid summer to fall
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Firmness: firm
Flavor: tasteless
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry
Other Names: fire weed, great willowherb, rosebay willowherb, willow herb