Flowering Raspberry vs Bilberry - TreeTime.ca

Flowering Raspberry vs Bilberry

Rubus odoratus

Vaccinium myrtillus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

Flowering Raspberry
Bilberry

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.

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.

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Bilberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - medium
Suckering: high


Toxicity: leaves may be unsafe in high doses
Bark: thornless orange
Flowers: purple
Flowers: white or pink, bell-shaped
Bloom time: summer
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Berries: round bluish-purple berries, edible
Firmness: firm
Flavor: tasteless
Flavor: sweet
Harvest: late summer to early fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry
Other Names: common bilberry, dwarf bilberry, low bilberry, myrtille, myrtle blueberry, myrtle whortleberry, whortleberry