Northern Bayberry vs Northern Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Northern Bayberry vs Northern Black Currant

Ribes hudsonianum

Myrica pensylvanica

CUSTOM GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Northern Black Currant
Northern Bayberry

Northern Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub found across Canada and the northern United States. Dark purple to black berries that ripen in summer and provide food for wildlife and humans. Fragrant yellow-green flowers that attract a wide variety of pollinators.
This shrub is well adapted to moist soils and can even survive periods of flooding. It has an interesting bronze colour in fall.

Northern Bayberry makes an excellent hedge or feature shrub. It will retain its leaves in warmer climates but drops them in colder areas. They produce blue-grey berries that have a wax coating on them that can be used to make candles or soaps.

In colder hardiness zones the leaves turn an attractive orange to red colour in the fall, making it a striking addition to your landscape.

Northern Bayberry is native to Nova Scotia and tolerates both drought and wet conditions. It is also a nitrogen fixer that tolerates poor soil conditions.

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Northern Bayberry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: long
Growth form: upright to prostrate, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: Warning: The wax from bayberry fruit is considered toxic and may be carcinogenic.
Flowers: small white, in clusters
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: black, edible
Berries: blue-gray
Flavor: bitter
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: yes


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, YT, NT
Native to: ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: hudson bay currant, stinking currant, western black currant, wild black currant
Other Names: candlewood, myrique de pennsylvanie, small waxberry, swamp candleberry, tallow bayberry, tallow shrub, tallow tree, tallowshrub