COMMON BILBERRY, EUROPEAN BLUEBERRY Vaccinium myrtillus
SKU: 1363-20
Description
Vaccinium myrtillus or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortleberry to distinguish it from other Vaccinium relatives.
Vaccinium myrtillus is a small deciduous shrub that grows 4–18 in (10–46 cm) tall. It has light green leaves that turn red in autumn.
Vaccinium myrtillus is native to continental Northern Europe, the British Isles, north and central Asia, Japan, Greenland, Iceland, Western Canada, and the Western United States. It occurs in the acidic soils of heaths, boggy barrens, degraded meadows, open forests and parklands, slopes, and moraines. Bilberry seems to be unaffected by climate change.
In cooking, the bilberry fruit is commonly used for pies, tarts and flans, cakes, jams, muffins, cookies, sauces, syrups, juices, and candies.
Although bilberries are in high demand by consumers in Northern Europe, the berries are harvested in the wild without any cultivation.
Hardiness zones: 3-8
Seeds per pack: 20
Germination: Start these seeds right away to preserve viability, no matter the time of year. Soak the seeds for 24 hours before planting. Seeds require light for germination, and must be exposed to bright, indirect sunlight for at least six hours each day to sprout successfully. Sow the seeds on the surface of a sterile seed-start mix, and water in. Then cover them with plastic and place in a fridge for 90 days. Be sure they stay moist. After the cold-moist stratification period they are then brought back to room temperature (20-22 °C, 68-72 °F) for them to germinate. Seedlings will begin to emerge in a month and will continue to emerge for a long period thereafter.
Description
Vaccinium myrtillus or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortleberry to distinguish it from other Vaccinium relatives.
Vaccinium myrtillus is a small deciduous shrub that grows 4–18 in (10–46 cm) tall. It has light green leaves that turn red in autumn.
Vaccinium myrtillus is native to continental Northern Europe, the British Isles, north and central Asia, Japan, Greenland, Iceland, Western Canada, and the Western United States. It occurs in the acidic soils of heaths, boggy barrens, degraded meadows, open forests and parklands, slopes, and moraines. Bilberry seems to be unaffected by climate change.
In cooking, the bilberry fruit is commonly used for pies, tarts and flans, cakes, jams, muffins, cookies, sauces, syrups, juices, and candies.
Although bilberries are in high demand by consumers in Northern Europe, the berries are harvested in the wild without any cultivation.
Hardiness zones: 3-8
Seeds per pack: 20
Germination: Start these seeds right away to preserve viability, no matter the time of year. Soak the seeds for 24 hours before planting. Seeds require light for germination, and must be exposed to bright, indirect sunlight for at least six hours each day to sprout successfully. Sow the seeds on the surface of a sterile seed-start mix, and water in. Then cover them with plastic and place in a fridge for 90 days. Be sure they stay moist. After the cold-moist stratification period they are then brought back to room temperature (20-22 °C, 68-72 °F) for them to germinate. Seedlings will begin to emerge in a month and will continue to emerge for a long period thereafter.
