Deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum)

Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked. Unpalatable^[5]. The quality varies from shrub to shrub^[3]. When cooked and served cold they are considered to be delicious with a flavour suggesting gooseberry and cranberry sauce with the slightly bitter aftertaste of grapefruit marmalade^[3]. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter^[5].

Plant part: Fruit

Environment

Range

Eastern N. America - Maine to Indiana and Missouri, south to Georgia and Louisiana.

Habitat

Dry woods thickets and clearings^[6].

Light

full sun

Shade tolerance

light shade

Water

moderate

Hardiness

Zone 5+

Soil textures

sandy, loamy

Soil pH

very acid, acid

Drainage

well drained

Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil

Drought

intolerant

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter in a greenhouse in a lime-free potting mix and only just cover the seed^[7]. Stored seed might require a period of up to 3 months cold stratification^[2]. Another report says that it is best to sow the seed in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe^[5]. Once they are about 5cm tall, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, August in a frame^[7]. Slow and difficult. Layering in late summer or early autumn^[7]. Another report says that spring is the best time to layer^[5]. Takes 18 months^[7]. Division of suckers in spring or early autumn^[2].

Cultivation

Requires a moist but freely-draining lime free soil, preferring one that is rich in peat or a light loamy soil with added leaf-mould^[1]^[5]. Prefers a very acid soil with a pH in the range of 4.5 to 6, plants soon become chlorotic when lime is present. Succeeds in full sun or light shade though it fruits better in a sunny position^[5]. Another report says that it prefers a position in partial shade^[4]. Requires shelter from strong winds^[5]. Plants are hardy to about -25°c^[4]. Dislikes root disturbance, plants are best grown in pots until being planted out in their permanent positions^[5]. A polymorphic species, the plants are very variable in leaf shape. It is closely related to V. neglectum^[1]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus^[5].

References