Bearberry

Bearberry: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Creeping, evergreen dwarf shrub 5–15 cm tall, forming mats up to 2 m wide.

Leaf

Alternate, obovate to spoon-shaped, 1–3 cm, leathery, glossy, untoothed and net-veined on both sides; without gland dots.

Bark

Trailing, rooting stems with reddish-brown, peeling bark.

Flower

White to pink, urn-shaped bells (5–6 mm) in short, nodding clusters, April–June.

Fruit

Red, mealy berries (6–10 mm), August–October; edible but bland and dry.

Difference from cowberry

Cowberry has upright stems, leaves with a rolled edge and dark gland dots underneath, and juicy, sour berries.

Flowering: April–May · Pruning: March–April

Identify by feature: Red berries

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Cowberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea: upright stems, leaves with a rolled edge and dark gland dots underneath, and juicy, sour berries. Difference from cowberry

Why grow it?

• An evergreen ground cover for dry, acid and sunny spots, including slopes.
• White to pink little urns in spring: early nectar for bumblebees.
• Red berries in autumn, and often reddish-brown leaves in winter.
• Once established, it needs no watering, no fertiliser and no pruning.

Bearberry: where does it grow best?

• Full sun; in shade it becomes straggly and flowers poorly.
• Dry, acid, poor and free-draining soil, such as sand; no lime and no wet feet.
• Ideal for a sunny slope, a bank, the edge of a low wall or a heather garden.
• After a number of years, expect a mat 1–2 m wide; it grows slowly.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Acid soil

Moisture

Dry

Size

0.15 m tall, 1 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Heather: For the same dry, acid soil in the sun; together, a low heather garden.
• Broom: A native shrub with yellow flowers in May, for the same poor, acid sandy soil.
• Common juniper: A native, dark conifer that rises above the low mat.
• Scots pine: A light pine with a mat of bearberry beneath it evokes a northern pine forest.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Likes the acid soil near: scots pine, black pine, weymouth pine, english oak, sessile oak, giant redwood
• Like acid soil, just like this plant: heather, rhododendron, japanese skimmia, raspberry, highbush blueberry, witch hazel, broom, gorse

Best kept away from

• Do not plant under the dense crown of these trees: norway spruce, european silver fir, nordmann fir, douglas fir, yew, horse chestnut, norway maple, sycamore

Bearberry: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant pot-grown plants in April or September: bearberry transplants badly and is slow to establish.
2. Buy it from a nursery; never take plants from the wild, where it is rare in neighbouring countries.
3. Disturb the root ball as little as possible, plant at the same depth as in the pot and space plants 40–60 cm apart.
4. Mix a little sand and acid leaf mould into the planting soil, with no fertiliser or lime, and water in with rainwater.

Care

Watering

Water regularly in dry spells for the first two years, preferably with rainwater; after that it tolerates drought well.

Feeding

Not needed: bearberry grows on poor soil.

Weeding

Weed carefully between the plants in the first years, until the mat has closed: it grows slowly and easily loses out to weeds.

Mulching

A thin layer of pine bark or lime-free gravel between the young plants keeps weeds down and the soil cool.

Tip: Plant bearberry on a sunny slope or bank: the trailing, rooting stems hold the soil, and after a few years the mat needs no more work. For a closed mat sooner, plant 40 cm apart.

Bearberry: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March–April.

When: In March–April, if needed.

How:

• No pruning needed.
• At most trim stems that grow over paths.

Caution: Don’t cut into the mat without good reason: it grows slowly, and bare patches take a long time to fill in.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Layering

The trailing stems often root by themselves; in spring, cut off a rooted piece and plant it in a pot of sandy, acid soil.

Cuttings

In late summer, take cuttings from semi-ripe shoots and let them root slowly in a moist, sandy mix under plastic.

Bearberry: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy and evergreen.
• In winter the leaves often turn reddish-brown to purplish; in spring they go green again.
• The berries sometimes stay on the plant into winter.

Diseases and pests

• Wet soil: Root rot: the plant turns brown and dies. Choose a dry, free-draining spot.
• Lime: Yellow leaves and poor growth on chalky soil. Only plant it on acid soil.
• Slow to establish: Young plants barely grow in the first years. Water in dry spells, keep weeds away and be patient.

Through the year

• March: Prune if needed: shorten stems growing over paths.
• April: Last month for pruning; flowering begins; planting.
• May: Flowering: little urns for bumblebees; weeding.
• July: Water young plants in dry spells.
• August: Red berries; take cuttings.
• September: Planting possible again.
• December: Reddish-brown winter foliage.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Evergreen ground cover for dry, acid, sunny spots and slopes; lovely in a heather garden.

For wildlife

Early bells for bumblebees.

Also used for

The leaves, rich in arbutin, were once used as a tea for cystitis; long-term use is not recommended.

Did you know?

• The scientific name says the same thing twice: Arctostaphylos is Greek and uva-ursi Latin for ‘bear’s grape’.
• The leaves, rich in arbutin, were once used as a tea for cystitis.