Scientific name: Vaccinium parvifolium
Family: ERICACEAE
Common names: “Red huckleberry”
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Conditions:
Zone: 6-8
Light: Partial shade – deep shade
Exposure: Sheltered
Soil: Humus rich acidic soil, decomposing stumps
Moisture: Moist well drained, average
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: H 3-12′ W 3-6′ , very slow growing
Leaf and Stem shape: Small rounded oval leaves on green young stems
Flower: Single bell shaped greenish-yellow – pink flowers in leaf axils followed by large juicy round red berries
Pruning: Minimal – none, don’t cut these if you can help it, dieback & deadwood can be removed
Maintenance: Low , difficult to transplant and requires perfect conditions to survive
Landscape use: mixed woodland, native, wildlife gardens
Propagate: By seed?
Pests & Disease: Deer strip the leaves they can reach, can get scale if under stress
Comments: Attracts birds in early summer, especially robins, native to the Pacific Northwest, tasty edible berries , young shrubs can take 15 years or longer before they produce fruit so be very considerate of any pruning you are doing and try to rescue any of these shrubs from areas scheduled to be developed
