Vaccinium vitis-idaea – Lingonberry

General Information: Slow, low-growing, evergreen sub-shrub. The small and shiny leaves are alternate, leathery, and evergreen. Flowers are sweet, white, or light pink, bell-shaped, and nodding. The red berries, leaves, and flowers are all attractive miniatures! Groupings of plants form an edible ground cover. Flowers emerge Jun-Aug. Depending on the cultivar, flowering may last as little as 9 days or as long as 27 days. Fruits ripen 78 to 84 days after flowering. Fruits of the cultivars we offer set in two flushes, once in mid-summer, usually late July, and again in early fall, late September to October. Lingonberries can tolerate soil up to a pH of 6.0, but they prefer very acidic soil with a pH of 4.2-5.5 like their close relatives, Blueberries. Lingonberries can be grown alongside Blueberry bushes or other acid-loving plants, provided the other plants are maintained. Spreading slowly by underground runners (stolons), requiring full sun, and being short-All Productsstatured, Lingonberries do not compete well with fast-growing or fast-spreading plants.

Cultivation Details: Plants are self-fertile, but additional selections will increase production dramatically. ‘Susi’ and ‘Red Pearl’ are considered good pollenizers, it is recommended to plant at least one pollenizer for every 10 fruit-producing varieties. Interplant varieties with pollinizer cultivars. Pollinizers may be lower yielding, but should make up about 10% of each planting to obtain good fruit size and yield. Pollination is done by honey and bumblebees.

Edible Qualities: Lingonberries are edible, and related to Blueberries, Huckleberries, and Cranberries. The fruit resembles a Maine Blueberry in size, with a mildly tart flavor. Lingonberries can be eaten raw, but are more often used in jams, juices, wine, baking, etc. For the adventurous and exotic food lover, the fruits may also be pickled! The leaves and berries are also medicinal and have been used in a wide range of traditions by a vast number of Peoples. The fruit is high in polyphenol antioxidants and is highly nutritious, often considered nutritionally superior to its relatives, and considered a superfood.

Growing Requirements: Plant in full sun for optimal fruit production. Tolerates partial shade. Prefers evenly moist, acidic, loamy soils. Able to grow in peat moss and bog edges. Does not tolerate alkaline soils.

Fun Facts: These plants have a circumpolar distribution, that is, they are native to cold regions of Europe, Asia, and North America and were likely distributed by migratory birds. There are two subspecies, V. vitis-idaea ssp. vitis-idaea native to Europe and Asia, and V. vitis-idaea ssp. minus, native to North America. Our selections are all derived from the European subspecies, as the fruits of the North American subspecies are much smaller. The native North American variety produces single flowers and berries which only flower and fruit once per year. The Eurasian variety produces flowers and fruits in bunches, and these ripen twice per year.