Sunlight: though most sources say the more the better, one university project found partial shade to work well if you have short but hot summers, that seems worth trying. And avoid nitrate-containing fertilizers. Watering: don’t over-water better a bit dry than a bit wet.įertilizer: don’t over-fertilize-use a light hand. Because the plants are small, if you want lingonberries, grow quite a few plants. Here are a few further notes:Ĭontainer size: a five-gallon (12-inch) pot suffices for a mature lingonberry plant (mulch to 2 to 4 inches peat works well). Ready availability for the home grower currently amounts to about a dozen and a half or so types, which it would be tedious to list (but see the list of links farther below).Īfter extensive examination of the literature, we believe that the best bets are Erntesegen and Erntedank, which are both quite productive of good fruit and which can pollinate each other (lingonberries are, in principle, self-pollinating, but cross-pollination by a different variety greatly helps productivity.) Lingonberry CultivationĬulture is highly similar to that of blueberries, so read over that material. With their slowly increasing popularity in the western hemisphere, a good number of named cultivars have become available to the both the commercial and the home gardener (a 2006 paper stated that 21 distinct cultivars were being grown in the Pacific Northwest, and named and described them). Also, the plants being small, one would be well advised to plan on quite a few for a decentg annual harvest. Though lingonberries are nominally self-pollinating, it is consensus that they are much more productive when cross-pollinated one thus wants at least two different cultivars planted. The first, in spring, is usually very small and essentially useless the second is the true yield flush, though a few varieties are said to have a third, late-fall flush that is also productive. Lingonberries typically fruit twice a year, though some varieties can have three fruitings. Especially famous is lingonberry jam ( rårörda lingon), which can be made easily with no cooking: just stir the raw berries with a small amount of sugar. They used to be an important staple in the northern-tier states and in Canada, but have become less known in modern times: that is a defect that needs curing, as they are wonderful berries and fairly easy to grow. Lingonberries can be eaten fresh, though they are quite tart (they actually have a lot of sugar, more than blueberries, and can be preserved in just their own juice, but they also have a lot of acid) but they are especially good in various cooked forms. Lingonberries are known by many other names: cowberries, red whortleberries, fox berries, mountain cranberries, mountain bilberries, partridgeberries, tyttebær (Norwegian & Danish), rauðber (Icelandic), puolukka (Finnish), and lingon (in Swedish). Lingonberries, which we have had in various forms in Scandinavia, where they are immensely popular, are a most flavorsome berry (think of them as a superior sort of cranberry), and are an excellent, too-little-known crop for this region, being native to climates very much like ours (in fact, Washington and Oregon now lead the world in lingonberry production).
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