wetland shrub

American Cranberry

Vaccinium macrocarpon

Native to much of the USA and southern Canada

Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Virginia, Ohio, northern Illinois and mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee; escaped elsewhere

Light Partial shade Sun tolerance
Moisture Wet Moisture preference
Zones 2–8 Cold to heat range
Bloom Jun–Jul Flowering time
Height up to 6 in to 15 cm
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A wetland shrub for partial shade and wet soil. Its white and pink flowers peak in July. At up to 6 in, it tucks into rain gardens, pond edges, and damp low spots. Hardy in USDA zones 2–8.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

When it blooms

The American Cranberry's white and pink flowers bloom June to July, peaking in July. This midsummer display draws bees and beetles.

American Cranberry blooms white & pinkFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee +88 more
Two-spotted Bumble Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Pure Green Sweat bee, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Perplexing Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Agapostemon texanus, Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, Flat-tailed Leafcutter Bee, Sculptured Resin Bee, Golden Sweat Bee, Rusty-patched Bumble Bee, Confusing Furrow Bee, Spurred Ceratina, Western Leafcutter Bee, Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee, Augochloropsis metallica, Hawthorn Mining Bee, Carlin's Mining Bee, Dark-winged Sweat Bee, Neighborly Mining Bee, Rufous-backed Cellophane Bee, Texas Leafcutter Bee, Silky Striped Sweat Bee, Northeastern Sweat Bee, Sanderson's Bumble Bee, Cresson's Mining Bee, Frigid Leafcutter Bee, Say's Cuckoo Leafcutter Bee, Deep-blue Sweat Bee, Small-handed Leaf-cutter Bee, Nude Mining Bee, Ceratina dupla, Snowy Mining Bee, Carolina Miner Bee, Carinate Armored-Resin bee, Imitator Miner Bee, Experienced Sweat Bee, Osmia pumila, Colletes consors, Maine Blueberry Bee, Sphecodes aroniae, Pointed Sweat Bee, Blueberry Blunt-horn, Lasioglossum subviridatum, Truncate Small-Mason, Pygmy Nomad, Goatsbeard Miner Bee, Athabasca Sweat Bee, Buff-tailed Bumble Bee, Lasioglossum trigeminum, Osmia inspergens, Panurginus atramontensis, Coelioxys porterae, Lasioglossum apopkense, George Eickwort's Sweat Bee, Morrison's Miner Bee, minor cuckoo sweat bee, Osmia steinmanni, Lasioglossum subfulvicorne, Osmia alticola, Halictus leucaheneus, Heather Mining Bee, Sphecodes fattigi, Lasioglossum creberrimum, Coelioxys immaculata, Augochloropsis sumptuosa, twig mason bee, Nomada rodecki, Lasioglossum lineatulum, Flattened Sweat Bee, Oblong Sweat Bee, Lasioglossum pilosum, Heather Cellophane Bee, Bilberry Mining Bee, Admirable Sweat Bee, Bombus vagans vagans, Lasioglossum marinum, Lasioglossum coriaceum, Alpine Bumble Bee, Giant Bumble Bee, Bombus ruderatus, cranberry leafcutter bee, Augochlorella striata, Xylocopa virginica virginica
Beetles Seven-spotted Lady Beetle

also Convergent Lady Beetle, Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Oriental Beetle +2 more
Acmaeodera tubulus, Sand Chafer
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher also Oblique Streaktail, Long-tailed Aphideater, Thick-legged Hover Fly
Also visited by
- Butterflies:
  
  Eastern Tailed-Blue, American Silver-bordered Fritillary +2 more
  Bog Copper, Cyaniris neglecta
- Moths: Yellow-spotted Webworm Moth, Bog Glyph

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: WetlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: Much of the USA and southern CanadaUnited States (21): CT, DE, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV. Canada (6): NB, NL, NS, ON, PE, QC. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Virginia, Ohio, northern Illinois and mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee; escaped elsewhereThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Partial shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: WetThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 2–8 · Canadian 1–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Wet to moist, peaty soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil texture: Light to medium (sandy to loamy)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
Soil pH: AcidicThe acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: Low (tolerates poor soil)How rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.

Growth & form

Height: up to 6 in (to 15 cm)Typical mature height.
Spread: ~7 ft (2 m)How wide one plant gets, a guide to spacing.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: ModerateA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: ShrubWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Jun–JulWhen it flowers.
Flower color: White, PinkThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: ripens Jul–OctThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.