Thimbleberry

 - Rubus parviflorus

Growing in large patches, Thimbleberry is a beautiful shrub with prominent white blossoms and large star-shaped leaves that form a dense cover. Stems are thornless. The showy clusters of fragrant white flowers attract bumblebees and other pollinators. Blooms are followed by deep red fruit available to eat in mid to late summer. Birds love the berries and you will be racing them to sample the bounty! The Leaves turn brilliant orange to maroon in fall.

The flowers of Rubus parviflorus are self-fertile and a single shrub will produce fruit, however it will produce more abundantly when two or three of the shrubs are present.  If an abundant yield is desired, keep the older canes. Unlike other raspberries, the best yields occur on canes 2-3 years old. 

Most commonly found on the margins of moist shaded forests, Thimbleberry grows easily in any rich medium-moist soil, but also tolerates drier and poorer conditions. It can handle brief seasonal flooding. Thimbleberry will grow in full shade, but the shrub will be more lush and bear more fruit when it receives more light. 

Excellent uses and planting opportunities include: informal hedges, bird and wildlife gardens, erosion control on steep hills and stream banks. Thimbleberry is best grown in areas where in can naturalize and form a colony. Thimbleberry is a valuable food source and foraging or nesting cover for Songbirds, game birds, and small mammals. Larval host plant for the Yellow-Banded Sphinx moth (Proserpinus flavofasciata).