Growing crowberries (Empetrum nigrum)

General Fruit Growing
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I just bought my first crowberry plant. I’m planning to add more varieties later.

Does anyone know if they necessarily require acidic soil, like most species of the Ericaceae family? I’ve heard that they are more tolerant of neutral soils than other species in this family.

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Any idea which variant you purchased?

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Yes, it’s the hermaphroditum.

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@TheNetherlands
Here’s a few references. I read elsewhere it is a quadraploid :slightly_smiling_face:.

E. hermaphroditum

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I bought this variety because I figured it would be a great pollinator. It’s also self-fertile.

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I grow a few varieties of Empetrum near Seattle.

  • Empetrum nigrum
    • From AlaskaMushrooms on Etsy
    • From Keeping It Green Nursery in Washington
    • From many patches in Washington (cuttings take easily)
    • From Tripple Brook Farm via Hartmann
  • Empetrum rubrum
    • From Far Reaches Farm in Washington
    • From seed grown cuttings
  • Empetrum caucasicum
    • From Wrightman Alpines

You can see Empetrum growing in super wet places, like Crowberry Bog out in Washington (A mysterious, rare bog is full of surprises on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula - OPB) but also on dry rocky patches that have full sun.

I have found that Empetrum nigrum grows slowly for the first few years and then picks up speed. Empetrum rubrum has been the fastest for me.

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E. rubrum is an interesting species to have.

Have you tried making jams from one of the species fruits?

Do you amend your soil to make it more acidic?

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I would love to. I didn’t get anywhere close to enough yield for that this year. It definitely needs pollination, so I have just put as many as I can close to each other. In past years, I had isolated plants in different parts of the yard that didn’t produce anything.

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