Ericaceae
Empetrum nigrum subsp. nigrum
Empetrum nigrum subsp. nigrum
Also known as Empetrum hermaphroditum, Empetrum purpureum, Empetrum procumbens, Empetrum nigrum f. ciliatum
Flowering Plants · Edibles & Herbs · Native Plants · Trees & Shrubs · Crowberry · Boreal · Arctic · Evergreen · Shrub · Edible Berries · Acidic Soil · Wildlife · Cold-Hardy · Groundcover
Crowberry is a hardy, low-growing evergreen shrub native to boreal and subarctic regions, prized for its small black edible berries and dense needle-like foliage. It thrives in acidic, peaty, well-drained soils and cooler climates, making it ideal for native or wildlife gardens in northern areas. Once established it is quite self-sufficient, requiring little pruning or fertilizing.
Growing conditions
The details behind the basics
- Daily light
- 4 hours
- Watering
- Water moderately; soil should remain consistently moist but never saturated · Every 7-10 days
- Maintenance
- Low
- Soil
- peat
- Soil pH
- 4.3–7.8
- Temperature
- -25°F to 85°F
- Cycle
- Perennial
Hardiness
USDA 4b-8b
Form & growth
Mature size and habit
- Mature height
- 3 ft – 10 ft
- Spread
- 6.7 ft
- Spacing
- 24 in apart
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Root depth
- Medium
- Flowers
- Purple
- Foliage
- Green · Coarse
Ecology & origin
Where it belongs and what it brings
- Native to
- Alaska, Albania, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Altay, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Buryatiya, California, Central European Rus, Chita, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France
- Attracts
- Birds, Bees
Sources: trefle, usda
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