i too have been looking for a source for years. supposedly grows wild here but ive yet to find any. a friend of mine gave me a few sprouts off his mothers wild highbush she had growing in her yard in N.H. it produced some berries last summer. they we almost black and dark flesh inside. not very big berry and im sure its not a bilberry as these get 5ft tall but interesting for a blueberry .ive tried sprouting bilberry seed outdoors over wintered with no luck.
I just want to clarify what I am personally looking for. I am looking for a reputable nursery who is selling plants only.
The places that I remember selling them like https://oikostreecrops.com/ seem to have revamped the website. Ordered lots of things from them it’s good. Also I recall https://onegreenworld.com/ growing them which is reputable but not on their website. The place that I have ordered autumn berry plants from and had very good luck with is out of stock https://plantingjustice.org/product-category/berries-fruiting-bushes/?s=Bilberry . I would call them to see when they will have them if it was me.
Thanks for the suggestions!
There is one other place I would look if I wanted something ultra rare. Bear berries, lingonberries, huckleberry are all ultra rare that they sell. Mr. Hartman used to swap me plants for plants 15+ years ago. I imagine these are his kids or cousins running his business now. He sold plums called mini sweets and others I swapped for some blackberries. Their prices are good and their plants are good.
Shop Wholesale - Hartmann's Plant Company | Wholesale Store
What you are after is Vaccinium myrtillus I think aka Whortleberry. Here is its Himalayan cousin that’s ultra rare its outside our zone Hardiness Himalayan Whortleberry - now available at One Green World aka Vaccinium nummularia both kin to the blueberry and huckleberry. You might want to read this Colorado's wild blueberries | Wild Food Girl and this Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Vaccinium myrtillus then get a little help from this group Colorado Front Range Thread
Could you root from cuttings? They are sent out in February.
These are available ‘Bilberry cuttings’
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450079
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1665951
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1659736
These might become available later
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450058
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450060
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450061
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450062
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450063
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450066
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450067
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450068
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450069
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450070
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450071
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450072
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450073
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450074
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450075
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1450076
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1011149
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1011200
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1575475
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1575476
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1942268
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1942270
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https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1942271
in the higher elevations in Maine like mt. katahdin in baxter state park and cadillac mt. in Acadia national park ive found small wild blueberries growing amongst crow berry and wild lingonberry in pockets in the rocks. the plants were just 6in. they had shiny dark leaves and black or dark purple fruit. about the size of a pea. they looked different than the wild blueberries that grow all over the state. i often wondered if these were a different blueberry or a dwarfed bilberry. the pulp of the fruit is purple as well unlike a blueberry. i wanted to pull one to bring home but i figured these plants had struggled so much to survive and fruit there, i didnt have the heart to take one. i also grow what i think is a blueberry a friend of ours’ mother gave us a root cutting of from her very old 6ft tall bushes in central N.H. they were growing on the property when they bought it 50 yrs ago. the fruit is small. little bigger than a pea but a very heavy producer of black berries. pulp is dark purple as well. mine is slow growing and only a few ft high in 3 yrs but has produced a handful of fruit. it has a sweet / rich taste almost like a honeyberry. im wondeing if this is a cross between a wild highbush and a bilberry. the fruit fits the bilberry description. looking forward to getting a bigger harvest from this one.
Those diverse genetics in the plants you are discussing are likely a Oberhausen of antioxidants but they don’t fit in the plans of modern Agriculture. Like much of what grow rhe genetic diversity is important.
@FarmGirl-Z6A Any luck finding Vaccinium myrtillus? I only found some seeds but no seedlings.
Correct
@mountainfarmer – welcome to GrowingFruit!
Vaccinium myrtillus is native in the following U.S. locations:
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Colorado (w.), Idaho, Montana (w.), Oregon (n.), Washington (e.), Wyoming (w.)]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [New Mexico]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona (n.), Nevada, Utah (e.)]
we have wild bilberry here in Maine. maybe a different type than the western one. it grows in wet areas in partial shade and doesnt set much fruit. the fruit you do get is dark purple all the way through and stains. very sweet tasting but you are lucky to get more than a doz. fruit from 1 bush. see it alot along the shores of swampy bog type lakes here.
Different species. I didn’t mention it above, but Vaccinium myrtillus is primarily native to Europe and temperate Asia, plus an over-the-pole connection with western Canada.
Thanks for bumping this thread. I totally forgot that I was looking for Vaccinium mytillus after my initial search. I have not found anyone selling seedlings.
Bumping up on this thread- I’m after Bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus, if anyone finds plants or cuttings