Vaccinium arboretum

Vaccinium arboreum (Farkleberry, Huckleberry, Sparkleberry) is a SE native shrub with small semi evergreen leaves and small white flowers in the spring with small black fruit.  Vaccinium arboreum is one of our best understory native shrubs we have in eastern North Carolina and makes a large shrub or small tree with reddish brown exfoliating bark that rivals paperbark maples, small, glossy semi evergreen leaves that turn stunning oranges, reds, purples in the fall, lots of small, pendulous white flowers in the spring and lots of small black fruit (I guess technically edible but full of seeds and very hard fruit - animals enjoy them - I do not).  Almost impossible to transplant a wide grown plant since it tends to make a single, very long (MANY feet!) horizontal tap root.  We have grown these from seeds in root pruner pots to encourage a heavily branched root system and then potted into larger pots - these will become spectacular plants in your dry woodland garden.   Vaccinium arboreum will grow in dry conditions once established and does not like wet areas.  Rarely offered due to propagation issues, but once we figured out how to grow them, we will try to keep them in production.  

• HARDINESS:  zones 7-9
• EXPOSURES:  part shade, sun
• SIZE:  8-15'
• SHIPPING SIZE:  1/2 gallon container.  16-24" plant.