Bearberry
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · Ericaceae
A flat, trailing evergreen with small, glossy, leathery leaves that turn bronze-red in winter, tiny pink-white bells in spring and red berries in autumn.
- Size
- 8 in tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 2 to 6
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early May to late May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around bearberry
The planner designed this bed around bearberry when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why bearberry stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bearberry × 5, pink
- 2 Blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' × 3, red
- 3 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Calamint 'Montrose White' × 5, white
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Blue allium × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only bells. The others are daisies, flat plates, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 8 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 53% of the edge.
- 5 plants in 3 runs (3, 1 and 1). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
- Fine leaf against bold. Stiff goldenrod is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From early May to late May.
- Opens the season. For its first three weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 5 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Something is in flower for 25 weeks, from early May to mid October. Bearberry is planted in three places along the bed, which gives it rhythm.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where bearberry goes in a border
At 8 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
A superb native groundcover where conditions suit it: sun, sand, acid soil and cool summers. It fails in clay, in rich soil and in heat. Slow to establish; never fertilise it.
- Evergreen groundcover for poor, sandy, acid soil
- Seaside and cold, exposed sites
- Trailing over rocks and walls
What to plant with bearberry
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lowbush blueberry: in flower together for four weeks, from early May; tall enough (16 in) to stand behind it.
- Three-toothed cinquefoil: happy in the same dry soil.
- Pussytoes: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (4 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about bearberry
Does bearberry need sun or shade?
Bearberry grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does bearberry grow in?
USDA zones 2 to 6. It is hardy to zone 2, which means it survives winter nights down to about −40 °F (−40 °C).
Above zone 6 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does bearberry flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Late April to late May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should bearberry be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 in (20 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bearberry plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used five in three groups.
Is bearberry poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat bearberry?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after bearberry?
Bearberry is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Three-toothed cinquefoil: from late May to early July, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Creeping thyme: from early June to mid July, 3 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
What does bearberry look like in winter?
Bearberry keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is bearberry good for bees and butterflies?
Bearberry is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of brown elfin feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Host plants for the brown elfin
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub (groundcover)
- Size
- 8 in (20 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; hanging bells; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 2 to 6
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Comes from
- North America, Europe and Asia
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Brown elfin
- Stands up to
- Drought, salt
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.