Vaccinium macrocarpon ‘Pilgrim’- Cranberry

We primarily think of this Thanksgiving favorite from commercial plantings in New England. Cranberry actually grows wild in our area, but is restricted to sphagnum bogs, places most of us rarely visit, and hence it goes mostly unnoticed. While it prefers the soggy, acidic soils found in the aforementioned sphagnum bogs, this plant is actually quite adaptable – we’ve even seen it being grown in a half-whiskey barrel where the trailing stems arched out and over the sides of the barrel – quite ornamental, even more so when the large fruits start ripening late Summer. To provide the acidic soil the plant demands it’s worth mixing peat moss into your planting area. Plant more than one variety for best fruit production and make sure you have healthy bee populations for pollination.