Transplant outside
4 weeks before last frost
Either — needs 8–12 in of acid, peaty, well-drained soil with no lime nearby. In containers: 5-gallon pot or a wide 12-in-deep trough. Space plants 12 inches (30 cm) apart.
Crop guide · The blueberry and heath family
How to grow Lingonberry
A low evergreen shrub that spreads into a glossy mat and ripens tart scarlet berries in late summer.
Vaccinium vitis-idaea · also called Cowberry, Mountain cranberry
Full sun
Intermediate
Frost-hardy
Sun
Full sun
Give afternoon shade where summer days regularly top 85 °F (29 °C)
Frost
Hardy
Survives hard frost and deep cold. Open flowers can be lost to a late spring freeze
Spacing
12 in
30 cm between plants
Sow depth
¼ in
6 mm
To harvest
730–1095 days
counted from transplant
Timing
When to plant Lingonberry
Spring
Transplant
Set out potted plants as soon as the ground thaws, about 4 weeks before last frost.
Fall
Transplant
Early fall, at least 6 weeks before the ground freezes.
Too late?Stop planting once nights drop below freezing in fall — roots need 6 weeks to settle before the ground locks up.
Background
Why grow Lingonberry
One planting gives decades of fruit plus year-round evergreen cover for the front of an acid-soil bed. The berries hold their tartness and firmness far better in storage than most soft fruit.
A little history. An evergreen dwarf shrub of northern forests and tundra. It creeps by underground stems, and its fine roots depend on soil fungi that only function in strongly acid ground.
The season, step by step
From planting to harvest
Water and feed
All season
Water twice a week in warm weather; shallow roots dry out fast. Water when the top inch of mulch and soil feels dry. Aim for about 1 inch per week including rain.
Feed lightly once in early spring; skip the rest of the year. What to use: half rate of an acid-loving plant fertilizer, or a fresh top-up of pine bark mulch.
Prune and maintain
As it grows
Little needed for the first 3 years. After that, shear off about a third of the oldest stems in early spring to bring on new fruiting shoots, and pull out dead wood.
Harvest and store
730–1095 days from transplant
It's ready when berries are firm, glossy, and evenly deep red top to bottom, with no pale shoulder. Flavor stays tart; fruit gets softer, not sweeter, if left too long. Roll clusters off between thumb and finger, or comb through the mat with a wide berry rake held low. Pick a whole section at a time, then sort out leaves and green fruit on a tray.
Fresh berries keep 4–8 weeks in a covered container in the fridge. Freeze loose on a tray, then bag, for a year.
Keep it coming
Not a succession crop. Plant two different varieties at the same time so bees can cross them for heavier set.
Overwintering
Fully hardy where snow covers the mat. In bare-ground winters, lay evergreen boughs or a 2-in pine needle layer over plants to stop the leaves drying out.
Companions
Good neighbours, bad neighbours
Plant it with
Blueberry
Both want the same strongly acid, peaty, well-drained ground, so one bed serves both. The lingonberry mat shades the blueberry's shallow surface roots and crowds out weeds that would otherwise need hoeing.
Blueberry - Rabbiteye
In warmer gardens the taller rabbiteye bushes cast light afternoon shade the heat-shy lingonberry appreciates, while the low mat holds soil moisture around the bushes' surface roots.
Oregon Grape
Both are evergreen woodland shrubs content in acid soil and part shade, and they root at different depths so they are not fighting for the same water. Together they give a fruiting understory that stays furnished all winter.
Honeyberry
Honeyberry blooms very early and keeps bumblebees working the bed before lingonberry opens, so pollinators are already on site when its small bell flowers appear. Bumblebees are the main pollinator for both.
Heather
Heather demands the same acid, lean, sharply drained soil and stays low, so it shares the bed without shading the fruit. Its late flowers extend the nectar supply for the same bumblebees that pollinate lingonberry.
Keep it away from
Peppermint
Mint runs underground and will thread straight through a low lingonberry mat, and you cannot pull it out without tearing up the berry plants' shallow roots. Grow mint in a sunk pot or a separate bed well away.
Comfrey
Comfrey's broad leaves and deep taproot out-muscle a 6-inch evergreen mat for both light and water within a season. Use its cut leaves as mulch by all means, but keep the plant itself out of the berry bed.
Cabbage
Cabbage-family beds are usually limed toward neutral, fed heavily, and dug over each year — all three work against lingonberry, which needs undisturbed, unlimed, strongly acid ground. Test soil before liming anywhere near the berry bed.
Asparagus
Asparagus wants near-neutral, richly fed soil and throws up tall ferny growth that shades a low mat all summer. The two crops cannot be kept happy in one bed.
Crop rotation
After this crop
Rotation
A perennial — it holds its spot for years, so it sits outside the annual rotation.
A permanent perennial planting — no rotation applies, and no family gap is needed. Site it where the bed can stay acid and undug for a decade or more; each spring renew pine bark or needle mulch rather than turning the soil, and keep lime and wood ash out of the area.
Trouble to watch for
Pests and diseases
Pests
Birds
Sign
Ripening berries stripped from the outer edges of the mat, often overnight.
Fix
Drape bird netting on hoops once berries begin to color, keeping it off the foliage.
Black vine weevil
Sign
Notched leaf edges in summer; plants wilt and pull up easily with chewed roots, worst in pots.
Fix
Repot in fresh mix and drench with beneficial nematodes in late summer when soil is above 55F.
Aphids
Sign
Clusters on new shoot tips, curled young leaves, sticky film on older leaves.
Fix
Rinse shoot tips with a strong water spray twice a week; leave ladybugs and lacewings alone.
Spotted wing fruit fly
Sign
Soft dimples on ripe berries; tiny white larvae inside fruit picked slightly late.
Fix
Pick every 3 days once fruit colors and chill or freeze the harvest the same day.
Diseases
Gray mold
Sign
Browned flowers and fuzzy gray growth on berry clusters during cool, wet bloom weather.
Prevent
Thin crowded stems for airflow, water at soil level, and clip off blighted clusters promptly.
Root rot
Sign
Shoots stunted, leaves dull red-brown out of season, roots dark and mushy in soggy ground.
Prevent
Plant in raised, sandy-peaty ground that drains fast; never let the bed stand wet.
Leaf spot
Sign
Small reddish or pale spots on evergreen leaves, heaviest on the lower, shaded parts of the mat.
Prevent
Rake out fallen leaves and berries each fall, and avoid overhead watering late in the day.
FAQ
Common questions about Lingonberry
When should I plant Lingonberry?
Spring: set out potted plants as soon as the ground thaws, about 4 weeks before last frost. Fall: early fall, at least 6 weeks before the ground freezes.
How long until Lingonberry is ready to harvest?
730–1095 days, counted from transplant. It's ready when berries are firm, glossy, and evenly deep red top to bottom, with no pale shoulder. Flavor stays tart; fruit gets softer, not sweeter, if left too long.
Can I grow Lingonberry in a container?
Either — needs 8–12 in of acid, peaty, well-drained soil with no lime nearby. In containers: 5-gallon pot or a wide 12-in-deep trough.
How often should I water Lingonberry?
Water twice a week in warm weather; shallow roots dry out fast. Water when the top inch of mulch and soil feels dry.
How should I store Lingonberry after harvest?
Fresh berries keep 4–8 weeks in a covered container in the fridge. Freeze loose on a tray, then bag, for a year.
Can Lingonberry stay in the ground over winter?
Fully hardy where snow covers the mat. In bare-ground winters, lay evergreen boughs or a 2-in pine needle layer over plants to stop the leaves drying out.
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