Vaccinium vitus ideaus

Balsgard is the result of a Swedish breeding project started in 1978. Presently the largest lingonberry available. It bears very heavily. Plant is upright and compact and adaptable. Organic matter, composted leaves, one to two year old wood chips, peat moss, should make up the planting bed. Zones 2-8 Space 1' circle

Lingonberries offer an exciting addition of color and fruit for northern gardens. Also called Cowberry, Partridgeberry, and Foxberry, Lingonberries have a long history of use throughout the world. On a recent trip to Holland and Germany we saw lingonberries in home gardens throughout our travels and enjoyed the many different dishes and condiments made from this delicious fruit.

Lingonberries are a super hardy dwarf perennial evergreen shrub reaching 4 to 16 inches high, slowly spreading through underground rhizomes. Lingonberries bloom twice, once in early spring and once in summer. With adequate frost protection, both blooms will give way to fine crops of sparkling red, pea sized fruit very high in vitamin C and other fruity acids. The berries have a slightly tart taste when eaten fresh, but really excel in sauces, jams, jellies, and wines. in Europe, Lingonberries have a long history of medicinal uses, from lowering cholesterol levels to curing gastric distress and rheumatism.

Grow Lingonberries just as you do blueberries, placing them in well drained sites with generous additions of organic matter such as peat, bark or sawdust. They are self pollinating. They may be set out as individual specimens, in rows, or planted together to form a solid groundcover. Lingonberries require very little fertilizer. Generally a balanced acid mixture used for rhodies or azaleas once in the spring is sufficient. Plant in full sun or filtered shade for areas with warmer summers.