Highbush cranberry (American cranberrybush)

About Highbush cranberry (American cranberrybush)

American highbush cranberry is a native shrub, not a true cranberry, with flat white flower clusters in spring and bright red, very tart fruit in late summer and fall. The fruit makes a good sauce or jelly. Buy the native plant: the look-alike European cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus) has bitter fruit, has escaped into the wild from Newfoundland to Virginia and west to Washington, and crosses with the native (NC State; NRCS).

NC State lists zones 2-7; the University of Wisconsin gives zones 3-7.

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

Plant nursery-grown shrubs of native cultivars such as 'Wentworth', 'Phillips', 'Hahs' or 'Andrews' (NRCS). It tolerates shade, but flowers and fruits best in full sun (NRCS). Watch for viburnum leaf beetle, which can kill shrubs stripped of leaves 2 to 3 years in a row (NRCS). The shrub reaches 8 to 12 feet tall and wide (NC State).

Soil

Moist but well-drained loam or silt loam; it does not like wet soil and is not drought tolerant (University of Wisconsin).

Plant in moist, well-drained loam with a pH of about 6.0-7.5 (University of Wisconsin).

Feeding

• Once a year, in spring: compost or well-rotted manure. Spread a layer around the shrub to keep up growth and yields (NRCS).

Prune right after flowering, not in winter, or you cut off next year's flowers and fruit; pruning keeps plants from getting leggy (NRCS).

Harvest

Pick in late August or September, when berries are red but still a bit underripe and sour, for sauces and jelly (NRCS). If left on the shrub, birds often wait to eat them until they have frozen and thawed (NC State).

Highbush cranberry fruits once a year, in August-September; pick in late August or early September while slightly underripe and sour for sauces and jelly. Uneaten fruit often hangs on all winter.

Varieties (6)

Only 6 named fruiting selections are documented (USDA NRCS), and only Wentworth and Phillips are described (University of Wisconsin). No source rates single cultivars for hardiness. Compact ornamental forms such as 'Compactum' are cultivars of European cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus), which can be invasive, so they are left out.

Pests to watch for

Tarnished plant bug, Thrips, Viburnum leaf beetle

Diseases and problems

Bacterial leaf spot, Powdery mildew, Shoot blight

In the kitchen

Too tart to eat fresh; cooked into jelly, sauce, juice and pies, as a stand-in for cranberries. Strain out the flat seeds, which are astringent (University of Wisconsin; NRCS).

Keeping it: Make juice soon after picking, or freeze it for jelly later.

Safety: Raw fruit is very sour and astringent (University of Wisconsin). European cranberrybush fruit is more bitter and less pleasant, so make sure you have the native plant (NC State).

Pets: Not listed by the ASPCA