Vaccinium myrtillus
Bilberry
The bilberry is native to many parts of Europe and North Asia. It grows on acidic soils, and is shrubby in form, with bright green, thick, oval leaves, with pale pink flowers in Spring and Summer, followed by blue-black fruit in late Summer / early Autumn. The plant is self-fertile, and attractive to wildlife.
Contributed by @adam
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Full sun to partial shade
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Occasional watering
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Frost Hardy: 23F (-5°C)
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Moist and free draining
Common name
Bilberry
Latin name
Vaccinium myrtillus
type
Fruiting Plant
family
Ericaceae
ph
3.5 - 5.5 Acid - Neutral
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Light
Full sun to partial shade
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Frost
Frost Hardy: 23F (-5°C)
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Soil
Moist and free draining
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Water
Occasional watering
Plant & bloom calendar
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Best time to plant
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When the plant will bloom
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When to harvest
full grown dimensions
1.00 M
0.20 M
Vaccinium myrtillus
The bilberry is native to many parts of Europe and North Asia. It grows on acidic soils, and is shrubby in form, with bright green, thick, oval leaves, with pale pink flowers in Spring and Summer, followed by blue-black fruit in late Summer / early Autumn. The plant is self-fertile, and attractive to wildlife.
Flowering Season
From Mid Spring TO Mid Summer
Clusters of light pink flowers appear in spring and summer followed by black/blue fruits.
Harvesting
From Mid Summer TO Early Autumn
Harvest bilberries as soon as they are ripe that is when they are easy to remove.
Propagation by Softwood Cuttings
From Late Spring TO Early Summer
Take soft wood cuttings in spring to early summer. Cleanly cut up to a 10cm long stems, remove lower leaves and pinch the tip out, dip the stem into rooting hormone, fill a container/pot with suitable compost, make holes around the edge of it and plant the cuttings, water in well, cover with a polythene bag and place somewhere warm, lake the bag off twice a week to air the cuttings. Keep the cuttings moist until well rooted.Harden off when well rooted and pot on into individual pots increasing the airing to let the leaves to develop. Remove rotten, dying or dead cuttings regularly.
Propagation by Semi Hardwood Cuttings
From Early Summer TO Mid Summer
Semi hard wood cuttings are taken from the current years growth from late summer to mid autumn the bottom of the cuttings is hard and soft on the top. With a sharp knife take a cutting of about 14 cms, remove lowest leaves, dip end into rooting hormone, and place round the edge of a pot filled with a suitable compost, water well, they must remain moist till rooted, place under glass but in semi shade.
Planting Outdoors late
From Late Winter TO Early Spring
Plant out pot grown plants in a sunny site.
Planting
From Late Autumn TO Early Spring
The essential requirement for blueberry bushes to thrive is acidic soil. If your soil is neutral or alkaline, either increase the acidity by adding sulphur chips, or acidic organic matter (such as pine-needles or composted conifer cuttings), or grow in containers, using ericaceous compost. Plant bushes during the dormant season, from late Autumn to early Spring.
Propagating by cuttings
From Mid Summer TO Late Summer
Semi hard wood cuttings are taken from the current years growth from mid to late summer. The bottom of the cuttings is hard and soft on the top. With a sharp knife take a cutting of about 14cms, remove lowest leaves, dip end into rooting hormone, and place round the edge of a pot filled with ericaceous compost. Water well, using rainwater if possible. They must remain moist until rooted. Place under glass, but in semi shade..
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