Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!

The checkerberry is a low-growing ericaceous plant. Above all, it impresses with its decorative flowers and berries and its low maintenance requirements. However, the berries are not suitable for consumption.

In the winter, the berries of the berries are an eye-catcher in every garden

The plant genus, also known as partridge berry, includes numerous species that differ in growth height and color of flowers and berries. We will introduce you to the most beautiful types for the garden and give tips on care and planting of hareberries.

Blueberry: origin and properties

The checkerberry (Gaultheria) is a genus of flowering plants from eastern North America and is also known as partridge berry or American periwinkle. But it also occurs in South America, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The evergreen shrubs or subshrubs belong to the heather family (Ericacea) and can also be cultivated as an ornamental plant in our latitudes. The genus includes about 135 species that reach heights between 10 and 250 cm. However, the species used in the garden do not grow larger than 1 m.

Between May and September, the cloudberry blossoms. The flowering time differs from species to species. The flowers are bell-shaped or tubular and usually white or pink. Bumblebees also like to visit the cloudberry at this time. The fruits are not real berries, but only pseudoberries, which are actually capsule fruits with fleshy sepals. This also explains the trivial name of the Gaultheria. Depending on the species, the fruits can be red, white, pink, purple or blue and appear after flowering.

The berries can have different colors

The leaves of the partridge berry are 1.5 to 5 cm long and are green and shiny. Their shape is ovate, sometimes tapering, and the leaf margin is toothed or notched. The leaves turn bronze in the autumn months. The checkerberry is a perennial, so you can enjoy it for many years.

Tip: The leaves of the bilberry contain a lot of salicylic acid methyl ester, which helps against fever and pain.Therefore, before the artificial production of salicylic acid, the leaves of Gaultheria procumbens were used in a similar way to aspirin. It is still available today as Wintergreen Oil.

The most beautiful types and varieties of checkerberries for the garden

The genus Gaultheria includes about 135 species. Some of them can also be planted in the garden. We introduce you to the most popular types of cloudberry.

  • Lower Gaultheria (Gaultheria procumbens): It is probably the most popular Gaultheria for the garden and is also called Red Gaultheria or Red Carpet Berry . This is due to its creeping habit and the red fruits that appear in the fall. It will be about 20 cm tall.
The lower berries have red fruits and can also be grown in a pot
  • Shallon berry (Gaultheria shallon): This species is also called the tall partridge berry because it can grow up to 100 cm tall . It develops almost black fruits after the white-pink flowers.
The blossoms of the bilberry, like the Shallon bilberry here, are also decorative
  • Gaultheria ovatifolia: This species remains quite small at 15 - 30 cm and has red fruits and white flowers.
Cloudberry
Some species have pure white flowers
  • Peat Myrtle (Gaultheria mucronata): The peat myrtle is also called pungent harpberry and can produce pink, red or purple berries depending on the variety .
Peat
The peat myrtle is also very popular in the garden
  • Glandular Checkerberry (Gaultheria adenothrix): This species also has beautiful flowers with striking red, hairy sepals. It comes from Japan and only tolerates temperatures down to around -7 °C.
The Glandular Checkerberry has very pretty flowers that appear late in the year in August

Gaultheria planting: location and procedure

Slightly acidic to acidic as well as moist and loose, peaty soils are suitable as cloudberry locations. The checkerberry thrives best in semi-shade. If there are already rhododendrons or azaleas (Rhododendron) in the garden, Gaultheria will do well underneath as it prefers the same locations. Always plant the checkerberry in a flat area or in groups so that it comes into its own as a ground cover.

The one ruling among the bushesIt easily tolerates root pressure and benefits from the slightly higher humidity. Dry phases, dry air and wind are not tolerated by the haricot.

Tip: The checkerberry can be combined well with other ericaceous plants such as heather (Erica tetralix) or cranberry (Vaccinium oxycocco ).

The month of March has proven to be a good time to plant the cloudberry to give the plant enough time to get used to it. However, it can also be used in autumn.

Instructions: planting blueberries

  • First loosen the soil.
  • Fully work the acidic substrate into the soil. A bog bed substrate is suitable for this, such as our Plantura organic acidic soil. It has an acidic pH and is made with reduced peat.
  • Dig a planting hole twice the size of the root ball for each partridge berry.
  • Unpot the plant and place in a bucket of water until the root is soaked.
  • Pull the pads apart with your hands to encourage branching.
  • Insert the cloudberry, fill the planting hole with acidic soil and press down firmly.
  • Pour generously.
  • Cover the gaps with mulch, for example with the slightly acidic Plantura organic pine bark. Sustainably produced in Europe, this helps keep the soil moist and suppress weeds.

Planting blueberries in pots: It is also possible to grow blueberries in pots or window boxes. However, this requires daily watering, as the small volume of substrate dries up faster. On the other hand, an acidic pH is easier to obtain in the small volume. Here, too, our Plantura organic acidic soil is ideal as a substrate. To prevent waterlogging, a drainage layer of potsherds should be laid in the pot. It is best to use a glazed pot so that less water evaporates.

Care for the blueberry: watering, cutting & Co.

Gaultheria species are considered to be robust and undemanding, which is why they are very popular with hobby gardeners and the harpberry is also used as a grave plant. However, the cloudberry is dependent on watering, as it does not tolerate drought. Rainwater or decalcified tap water should be used and the partridge berries should not be poured from above, but directly into the substrate.

Caring for the Gaultheria requires pruning in March or April, but only every two tomust take place three years. Pruning old branches by a third encourages new growth. This keeps the plant young and floriferous. The faded flowers of the cloudberry should remain on the shrub so that the berries can develop from them.

The fruits are not real berries, just pseudoberries

From the second year of growth, the cloudberry should be supplied with fertilizer. A special fertilizer for plants that like an acidic environment, such as our Plantura organic hydrangea fertilizer, is suitable for this. This gradually supplies the plants with all the important nutrients and lasts for three months. So it is sufficient to fertilize the checkerberry once in April and once in July.

Propagate Gingerbread

In addition to self-sowing and propagation by stolons, you can also propagate the haricots yourself. Cuttings or the division of the mother plant at the root ball and sowing are suitable for this.

For the cuttings, cut about 10 cm long, half-ripe shoots off the mother plant in autumn. These should not have flowers. Apply some rooting hormone to the interface and put the cuttings in potting soil. These are placed in a warm and bright place without direct sun at around 12 to 15 °C. Keep the soil moist. If new leaves grow, the propagation was successful and you can plant the cuttings outside in spring.

You also have the option of gaining seeds yourself by harvesting the ripe fruit in spring and extracting the seeds. Clean the seeds with water and spread them on acidic substrate. The seeds should not be covered with soil, but kept well moist. To increase the humidity, you can stretch a film over the pot and later put a plastic bag over the seedlings.

Is the mulberry hardy?

With all the advantages of the Gaultheria, the question remains: Is the hareberry hardy? Yes, Galutheria is hardy and can withstand temperatures down to -20°C. If it gets colder, a cover with spruce or fir branches in the bed is suitable. Since the soil in the pot freezes faster than in the bed, the Gaultheria is not hardy here and should be protected with fleece and a layer of mulch. A cover is also recommended in the year of planting. Mild weather conditions can be used to water the cloudberry. Gaultheria is not only hardy, butneeds as a cold germ even the cold temperatures for reproduction.

The berries usually survive the winter without any problems and the leaves are beautiful

Is haricot poisonous?

The checkerberry is poisonous when its fruit is eaten. For example, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting can occur. Children in particular should be kept away from the partridge berry. Dogs, cats and birds do not avoid the plant for nothing, as it can also be poisonous to animals. The leaves, on the other hand, are edible and are used to make chewing gum and toothpaste, among other things. The leaves also have a pain-relieving and fever-reducing effect due to the salicylic acid methyl ester they contain.

Although the berries are poisonous, the leaves are used to extract essential oils

Blueberries are also ericaceous plants with similar requirements as the cloudberry. With us you will learn everything about planting and caring for blueberries.

Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!

Category:

Trees