Thimbleberry

Rubus parviflorus

Flowering shrub with erect branches on multiple, thornless stems. Lobed alternating leaves are one to three inches wide. This bush is a pollinator plant and a host plant for beneficial insects.

People enjoy this bush for its foliage and fragrant white, self-fertile flowers. Leaves turn burnt orange to maroon in the fall. Blooms appear in May and small, edible red berries come in late summer. Keep older canes for more abundant berry harvests that are good for jams and jellies. Songbirds, insects, and other wildlife enjoy the cover and food source, especially the Yellow-Banded Sphinx moth (Proserpinus flavofasciata) as thimbleberry is a host plant.

Plant in the open woods, thickets, marshy sites, or on stream banks. Excellent for erosion control and in wildlife/pollinator gardens as an informal hedge.

Current Sale Size: 1 gallon pot

Growth Rate: Moderate 

Soils: Sand, Loam, Clay

Moisture: Dry, Moist

Shade Tolerance: Sun, Part Shade

Mature Height: 4-8 ft.

Deer Damage Potential: Low

Trees4Bees!: This plant has been specially selected by our staff in partnership with local entomologists to support native bees and other pollinators critical to the ecosystem and human food systems. A community pollinator survey revealed that trees may represent the bulk of floral resources in spring, supporting pollinators that then benefit relatively sparse woodland ephemerals and early spring crops. In the fall, woody shrubs support the hibernation of some cavity-nesting native bees and other pollinators.