wetland shrub

Bog bilberry

Vaccinium uliginosum

Native to the Pacific Coast, the Rockies, and the Southwest and Canada

Circumpolar, southern in the U.S. to northern New England, extreme northeastern Minnesota, and Humbolt county, California

Light Full sun to shade Sun tolerance
Moisture Moist to wet Moisture preference
Zones 1–9 Cold to heat range
Bloom Jun–Jul Flowering time
Height up to 2 ft to 0.6 m
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A wetland shrub for sun through shade and consistently moist to wet soil. At up to 2 ft, it suits rain gardens, pond edges, and damp low spots. Hardy in USDA zones 1–9.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Tricolored Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee, Two-form Bumble Bee +39 more
Sitka Bumble Bee, Van Dyke's Bumble Bee, Lucorum-group Bumble Bees, Sanderson's Bumble Bee, Heath Bumble Bee, Buff-tailed Bumble Bee, Common Furrow Bee, Coppice Mining Bee, Red-tailed Bumble Bee, Flavous Nomad Bee, Bronze furrow bee, Early Mining Bee, Bilberry Mining Bee, Early Bumble Bee, Tawny Mining Bee, Marsham's Nomad Bee, Long-faced Furrow Bee, Lasioglossum fratellum, Panzer's Nomad Bee, Common Carder Bumble Bee, Bombus hyperboreus, Alpine Bumble Bee, Bombus lapponicus, Bombus balteatus, Mountain Bumble Bee, Tree Bumble Bee, Forest Cuckoo Bumble bee, Bohemian Cuckoo Bumble bee, Andrena similis, Great Yellow Bumble Bee, Lasioglossum minutissimum, Andrena carantonica, Osmia steinmanni, Lasioglossum subfulvicorne, Osmia alticola, Halictus leucaheneus, Heather Mining Bee, Heather Cellophane Bee, Buffish Mining Bee
Flower flies Thick-legged Hover Fly

also Variable Duskyface Fly, Banded Thintail, Hairy-eyed Flower Fly +12 more
Platycheirus albimanus Group, white-barred peat hoverfly, Megasyrphus erratica, Yellow-barred Peat Hover Fly, Sun Fly, Stripe-backed Brusheye, Blotch-winged Hoverfly, Parasyrphus lineola, Cheilosia morio, Tapered Drone Fly, Heineken Fly, Chrysotoxum fasciatum
Wasps Saxon Wasp

also Dolichovespula omissa, Dolichovespula adulterina, Red-banded Yellowjacket +1 more
Common European Yellowjacket
Also visited by
- Butterflies:
  
  Green Hairstreak, Clossiana chariclea +1 more
  European Peacock Butterfly
- Moths: Alpine Arches

Butterflies that use this plant

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

Silver-bordered fritillarynectar

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: WetlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: The Pacific Coast, the Rockies, and the Southwest and CanadaUnited States (15): AK, CA, ID, ME, MI, MN, MT, NH, NV, NY, OR, UT, VT, WA, WY. Canada (10): AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, ON, PE, QC, SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Circumpolar, southern in the U.S. to northern New England, extreme northeastern Minnesota, and Humbolt county, CaliforniaThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sun to shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: Moist to wetThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 1–9 · Canadian 0–9The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Wet, acid 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: 4.5–5.7The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Salinity tolerance: NoneHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: NoneHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Height: up to 2 ft (to 0.6 m)Typical mature height.
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.
Shape: Semi-ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 12+ in (30+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: ShrubWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Jun–JulWhen it flowers.
Flower color: PinkThe bloom color, or colors.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Required (cold, moist)Whether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: Bare root, container, cuttings, seedHow to start new plants.
Seed spread rate: SlowHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: LowHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: SlowWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.