Description
The red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) is a lovely BC native shrub for shady spots with an open, ethereal character with wiry branches and small leaves that turn red in fall. The white to pink flowers are visited by a variety of pollinators and are followed by bright red pendulous fruits that seem magical when lit by a shaft of sunlight breaking through the forest canopy. The fruit are quite tart but edible and fun to eat fresh or used in jellies or desserts. They were an important food of First Nations peoples. They are also popular with birds and native mammals. In the wild, red huckleberry is usually found growing on rotting stumps or logs. If you have such a feature in your garden this is the perfect place to plant it but make sure to water well for the first few summers as it becomes established. Otherwise grow in sandy or loamy soils with added bark mulch mixed in. Plants are a larval host for butterflies.
