Highbush Cranberry

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The highbush cranberry plant, also called American cranberry bush, is a shrub from the
genus Viburnum of the Caprifoliaceae, or Honeysuckle family. It is not actually related to the cranberries.
The bush grows up to 8 to 15 ft. in height with a 8 to10 ft. spread and forms a rounded shape. The flowers of the highbush cranberry shrub usually appear after the leaves emerge (May to June) and occur as flat clusters 2 to 5 inches across. The flowers themselves are 5-petaled and come in two different forms on the same plant. Around the edge of the cluster, large white flowers surround numerous tiny white flowers. The smaller flowers in the center are the fertile ones that will produce fruit, and it’s likely the larger ones attract pollinators. The fruit is a shiny sphere called a drupe that has a fleshy outside and large stone inside (much like plums or cherries). The fruit is ¼ to ½ inch wide and it turns bright red when ripe.
The single stone is large, yellowish, flat, and contains the seed or seeds inside it.

Introduction

Description

Optimal Time/Temperature for Germination:

Growing zones are 2 to 7 because it over winters well in cold and harsh winter climates. Propagate the highbush cranberry plant by collecting ripe fruit and planting them immediately in soil outdoors. Highbush cranberry plants will take up to two years to germinate as they require a warm period followed by a cold dormant period and another warm period. The second warm period will initiate seed germination.

Optimal Soil Conditions:

Select a planting location that offers a well-draining soil and full to part shade light conditions. The plant will grow in most soil types as long as there is no standing water. American highbush cranberry, the native kind, occurs mostly along the northern edge of the U.S. (from Maine to Washington) and across southern Canada where forest cover is available. Across this range, it grows in a variety of conditions and habitats. Although it is shade-tolerant, it prefers full sun and will grow and bear fruit the best in sunny conditions. Likewise, it can occur in many different soils (e.g., sand, loam, clay) but it typically grows best in consistently wet but well-drained soils (i.e., more on the loamy side). For example, riparian areas (e.g., streams, river banks, etc.), lake shores, forest-swamp transitions, forest edges, and clearings can all be prime habitat for this plant.

Seed Planting Depth, Spacing and Procedure:

Plant the whole fruit, or if you like, a cleaned seed, (no need to dry) about ¼ inch deep in a protected outdoor spot. Plant the highbush cranberry in a hole that is the same height as the container it came in and slightly wider. Sprinkle bone meal into the hole and set the plant on top. Gently fill and pack the soil around the root ball.

Best Companion Plants and Plants that Hinder:

Growing Instructions

Crop Maintenance

These Shrubs grow relatively fast—up to 3 feet per year. Annual pruning will maintain the desired height and width (in spring after the flowers fade). Prune the plant to remove old and thick branch growth. Cut and remove the branches at ground level instead of leaving stumps or small branch spikes on the stem of the plant. Heavy pruning on the highbush cranberry is not required.

Moisture Requirements & Solutions:

Water the highbush cranberry plant generously after planting to stimulate root growth. Continue to water the plant regularly to keep the soil moist during the first growing season. Water the plant the following growing years when the weekly rainfall amount is less than one inch.

Weeding Needs & Solutions:

Highbush cranberries don’t compete well with grass and weeds, so you should keep the bed weed-free until the plant is a couple of years old. After two years, the shrub will be large and dense enough to shade out all but the most stubborn weeds. Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch around the plants leaving a 3-inch gap between the stem of the plant and the start of the mulch area. This will assist with moisture retention and prevent weed growth that will compete with the plant.

Feeding Needs/Optimal Natural Fertilizers:

Fertilize the plant each year in the spring by mixing 1 inch of organic compost into the mulch application. Highbush cranberries do not require additional fertilizing through the growing season.

Pests, Diseases & Solutions:

This North American deciduous shrub is generally disease and pest free. Bacterial leaf spot occasionally inflicts visual black spots on the oldest of shrub leaves. Tolerate the minimal leaf drop that occurs in late summer before the leaves turn color and drop away in autumn. / If suffering under prolonged drought conditions, the shrub may lose foliage on branches infested with Botryospaeria canker. Prune away diseased branches and water sick plants. / A light-colored downy mildew sparsely cloaks the spots on leaf undersides. Avoid wetting foliage in springtime with overhead irrigation and rake up fallen leaves each autumn and destroy them–do not compost these fungus-infected leaves.

When to Harvest/Number of days to maturity:

The fruit generally grows in August and ripens by late September.

How to Harvest:

Highbush cranberry fruits are quite tart early in the season, nearly inedible, which is why people often process them. After the berries are exposed to a few freeze-thaw cycles, however, they tend to sweeten a bit and get mushier.

Optimal Storage temperature and conditions:

Aside from baked goods, the berries make pies, preserves, jellies, jams, syrups, and add to smoothies. Much of the astringency is in the seeds, so they should be removed before boiling the fruit, which nicely gels due to its high pectin content. Highbush cranberries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. The fruits may be frozen for up to three months.

Optimal Preserving Procedures:

Seed Saving:

The shrub often reseeds in the garden, although small seedlings are easily pulled or transplanted. Shrubs can also be started from nursery stock. It’s not a fussy young plant, except for its water needs. Store seed in a sealed container at about 60 degrees F for 5 months, then sow in a cold frame or greenhouse. If you choose to propagate by cuttings, the hardwood cuttings can be taken in the autumn from stems of currant growth with at least one bud near the top. Make them 4 and 1/2 inches long and in a trench place as vertical sides with at least 3/4 of length is under the the soil. The root system develops in the spring.

Harvest and Storage

Notes

The highbush cranberry bush can be an important survival food with wildlife- Ruffed grouse, pheasants, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, raccoons, chipmunks, squirrels, robins, cedar waxwings, and other songbirds all have been known to eat these fruits. Butterflies and other pollinators love its nectar. (Birds prefer the berries after freezing has sweetened them.) Nature also plants them by birds pooping the nondigestible seeds out. Importantly, there is a non-native copycat that can confuse people when it comes to identifying this shrub. The European introduction, called Guelder-rose is planted as an ornamental. It’s pretty tricky to tell the two apart unless you use a hand lens.At the base of the leaf, there are small glands that can identify them. The glands of Guelder-rose are shorter than wide, oval-elliptic, and bowl or cup shaped (concave) with a distinct rim; those of the native plant are typically taller than wide, round to oval, flat or rounded (convex) at the tip, and lack a distinct rim. You will likely find a true native highbush cranberry if you are in a remote or rural area.

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