Growing Huckleberries and Bilberries?
Many people claim that it is impossible to grow western
huckleberries and bilberries in cultivation. Take a look
at the photos on the right side of this page and you
will see that huckleberries and bilberries are actually
quite adaptable to cultivation.
Many of the legends about the impossibility of growing
huckleberries in cultivation arise from attempts to
transplant wild huckleberries from a forest into garden
or field. Many, although not all, western huckleberry
and bilberry species are rhizomatous. In other words,
they grow from underground stems called rhizomes. In
most cases, what looks like a bush is really more like a
branch arising from a rhizome. Dig up that "bush" and
you will often find very few feeder roots.
Transplant the "bush" and it will frequently die.
|
A section of mountain
huckleberry rhizome with several "bushes"
arising from it. |
In addition to the low survival rate most people achieve
transplanting from the wild, you remove a resource that
can no longer be enjoyed by others and can damage the
colony. In parts of Washington State, some highly
productive colonies that were likely centuries old have
been virtually destroyed by people digging up the
plants. If you like the berries from a particular
colony, collect the ripe fruits and grow out the seeds
yourself. It's easy and survival rates are very high
What is more, the young seedlings often out-grow
wild-dug plants in a few years because the
container-grown plants do not suffer transplant shock.
Our advice is Do Not Transplant Huckleberries or
Bilberries From Public Lands.
For detailed information on growing Cascade and mountain
huckleberries, download or order a copy of our
Growing Western Huckleberries. The same
techniques work equally well for starting and growing
seedlings of dwarf huckleberry, bilberry, and
oval-leaved bilberry. None of these species' seeds need
stratification, scarification, or other treatment before
germination.
Alpine bilberry (V. uliginosum) seeds require
stratification for about 3 months at about 32 to 34
oF or soaking in 500 mg/L potassium salt of
gibberellic acid in order to germinate. The easiest way
to stratify the seeds is to sow them in flats in
moist peat moss-based potting soil and place the flats
into a refrigerator for three months.
Red huckleberry (V. parvifolium) germinates
without stratification or scarification under a 70
oF day 55 oF night protocol, although
at somewhat low percentages compared with some other
species. Soaking the seeds in 500 to 1500 mg/L potassium
salt of gibberellic acid before sowing increases
germination percentages.
Collect the fruits when they are fully ripe. The fruits
do not have to go through the digestive tract of a bird
or bear in order for the seeds to grow. If you enjoy
collecting bear droppings and picking out the nearly
microscopic huckleberry seeds, go for it. This
researcher finds that particular activity highly
overrated. Also, bears eat a remarkable array of berries
and you will not know what species or seed source of
berries you have.
Do not freeze the fruits or seeds. Extract the seeds by
squashing the berries through a fine-mesh, wire, kitchen
strainer into a small tub of water. The viable seeds are
heavy and sink to the bottom of the tub. Gently pour off
the dirty water, fruit skins, and floating seeds. Add
clean water and repeat. The process is very much like
panning gold. When the seeds are clean, spread them on a
coffee filter and set them in subdued light at room
temperature for a week. Then place the dry seeds into a
small plastic bag with zip closure and store the seeds
inside a refrigerator at about 32 to 34 oF.
Stored this way, the seeds will remain viable for at
least seven years. Freezing the seeds or leaving them at
room temperature greatly shortens their storage life.
Our best germination has come with a daytime temperature
of about 70 oF and a nighttime temperature of
55 oF with a 12-hour photoperiod. If you
start your seeds indoors, germination occurs well under
cool, white fluorescent lights. Do not bury the seeds.
Sprinkle them onto the surface of firm, moist peat moss
or peat moss-based potting soil. Hold the seeds in place
with 1/16 inch of clean, coarse sand.
Growing Conditions
Western huckleberries and bilberries are first cousins
of northern highbush and lowbush blueberries and require
much the same climate and growing conditions. These
plants require a dormant period each winter and exposure
to temperatures just about or slightly above freezing
for around 800 hours or more. If your climate is too
warm for northern highbush blueberries, western
huckleberries will not do well, either. The exception
might be evergreen huckleberry, which is adapted to a
mild, coastal climate and can be found as far south as
Santa Barbara, California..
We have evaluated many environmental factors. Western
huckleberries grow under full sun, but also grow well
under quite dense shade. For Cascade and mountain
huckleberry, our best results at 2,000 feet elevation on
a flat, rather hot site are achieved under 30% to 40%
shade cloth (60% to 70% full sun) or under a stand of
mature hybrid poplar spaced 10 feet by 12 feet apart.
Full sun in morning and light shade in the afternoon is
often beneficial. On cool, north-facing sites, full sun
can be best.
More important than shade and air temperatures are the
soil conditions. In surveying six western huckleberry
and bilberry species across five northwestern states, we
found these crops are found naturally on soils with pH
ranging from 3.6 to 6.2 and averaging 5.0 (7.0 is
neutral). In other words, moderately to strongly acidic
soils. We recommend a target pH of 4.0 to 5.0.
Soil type is also important. The vast majority of the
colonies were found on moist but well drained sandy loam
or loam soils, and a few on silt loams. Mountain
huckleberry and alpine bilberry are more adaptable than
the other species we work with, in terms of soils, but
still grow best on a moist, well drained loam or sandy
loam soil.
If your soil is heavier than a loam or is poorly drained
because of a hardpan or other reason, grow huckleberries
and bilberries in containers filled with peat moss-based
potting soil (one-gallon for young plants and 3- to
5-gallons for mature plants) or in raised beds eight to
twelve inches high. We have had excellent success on a
poorly drained silt loam soil by using raised beds
filled with 1/3 each silt loam, sand, and compost. The
soil pH was adjusted to 5.0 by applying elemental sulfur
beginning one year before planting.
Where the soils is reasonably well drained, mulching
with several inches of aged conifer bark can be
beneficial. The rhizomes often grown in or just under
the mulch. In preliminary research trials, we have
achieved good survival growing young plants in raised
beds filled only with aged conifer bark. These results
are based only on one-year's observation, however, and
we are not recommending bark beds yet.
Irrigation Cool, moist but well
drained soils are the rule. These crops do not tolerate
drought. They also do not respond well to having the
leaves constantly wet. Constantly wet soils can also
cause root rots on some of the species. If possible,
irrigate flats and small containers from below to keep
the foliage leaves and stems dry. Drip irrigation works
very well for container-grown plants. The larger the
containers, the more water they hold and the less often
you will have to irrigate. Likewise, irrigate field or
raised bed plants so as to keep the foliage dry. If you
must use overhead watering, water early in the day to
allow the plants to dry before nightfall.
Fertilization
We have achieved our best success
growing western huckleberries and bilberries by
fertilizing with water-soluble fertilizers and applying
the fertilizers with the irrigation water directly to
the soil. During spring and summer, a fertilizer with
about 20% each of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
(20-20-20) works well. In late summer, switch to a
formulation lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphorus
and potassium, such as a 4-25-35. Use fertilizers that
will help keep the soil pH between 4.0 and 5.0.
Formulations designed for azaleas and rhododendrons are
generally well suited to huckleberries.
For container and bark bed culture, we
often supplement liquid fertilizers with a resin-coated,
slow-release fertilizer either mixed into the potting
soil or sprinkled on top of the potting soil or bark..
Applications of granular ammonium
sulfate or "complete" garden fertilizers to field-grown
western huckleberries and bilberries have repeatedly
been associated with plant injury or death.
Winter protection
Cold hardiness in huckleberries and
bilberries varies greatly, depending on species and seed
source. Evergreen huckleberry (V. ovatum) for
example, is found only along and very close to the
Pacific coast. It is unlikely to be hardy in cold,
interior locations. Oval-leaved bilberry (V.
ovalifolium) occurs naturally from sea level to
about 6,500 feet elevation. Oval-leaved bilberry plants
grown from seed collected at sea level, however, have
not proven consistently hardy in northern Idaho. When
possible, match the seed source climate as closely as
possible with that where the plants will be grown.
With the possible exception of evergreen
huckleberry, western huckleberries and bilberries
benefit from consistent snow cover. On sites where
temperatures fall below 0 oF, survival will
be best when the plants are covered by one to several
feet of snow.
For overwintering container-grown
plants, two methods work well. We store our most
important plants inside a walk-in refrigerator at 32 to
34 oF. Spraying the plants with captan
fungicide before storage greatly reduces mold problems.
The plants are moved into the cooler after they are
fully dormant and following several hard frosts. The
plants do not need light while dormant, but be sure not
to let the potting soil dry out.
Where refrigeration is not possible, we
bury the huckleberry pots in sawdust outdoors. Cover the
top of the potting soil with several inches of sawdust.
Very small plants in flats can be buried completely in
the sawdust after the plants are fully dormant.
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