Arctous rubra

Common Names

Red Fruit Bearberry, Red Bearberry, Busserole Rouge, Manzanita

Summary

Red Bearberry is a small, trailing boreal-tundra shrub forming mats about 3–20 cm tall, with glabrous, obovate to oblanceolate leaves on winged petioles. Its summer inflorescences are 2–5-flowered, with pale green to yellow sepals and white to cream urn-shaped flowers; fruits are brick red to scarlet drupes 6–12 mm in diameter.

It prefers sunny rock crevices and well-drained or poor-drained soils with protection from winter wet, and can be grown in alpine housing; propagation is by seed in spring (germination 3–6 months at 13–18°C), by cuttings in late summer/fall, or by layering in spring. It is used in restoration planting on moist to wet boreal/upper subalpine sites and shows promise on disturbed sites; fruits are edible raw or cooked but not highly palatable, sometimes used to make jam; the plant exhibits very high winter hardiness and tolerates a wide range of soil pH.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

1-12 inches

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally full sun.

Soil Type

Calcareous, well-drained soil

Soil Drainage

Well-drained soils

Soil pH

Wide range; pH 3.4–3.9 to 8.0–8.2

Bloom Color

White to cream, Yellow or pale yellow-green

Bloom Time

Spring to Summer

Foliage Color

Red (fall foliage)

Fall Foliage Color

No fall color change

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Cuttings, Layering

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts bears and ravens, Attracts ptarmigan