Cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Low acid-bog evergreen — happiest mulched alongside blueberries.
Light Full sun to part shade
Water High
USDA zones 2a–7b
Height 10–20 cm
Spread 23.6 in
Spacing 30 cm
Sow depth Shallow
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 11.8 in
- In-row spacing
- 11.8 in
- Between rows
- 17.7 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Calendar (from your frost dates)
- Plant out
- at the last spring frost
- First harvest
- 140 days after the last spring frost
- Harvest ends
- 7 days after the first fall frost
Growing
- Type
- Fruit · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Watering
- High
- Soil
- Acidic, moist, free-draining
- Feeding
- An acid-loving plant fertilizer in spring, and no lime at all.
- USDA zones
- 2a–7b
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- May
- Pruning
- Trim the runners back in early spring.
Through the year
- Apr–Jun Bud Break
- Jun–Jul Flowering
- Jul–Sep Fruit Set
- Sep–Dec Harvest
- Jan–Apr Harvest
Harvest
- When
- September–October, after the berries have colored fully — flavor improves after the first light frosts. Plants (acid, boggy beds) crop from year 2–3.
- What to look for
- Deep uniform red (variety-dependent, some near-maroon), firm, and the classic test: a truly ripe cranberry bounces when dropped on a hard surface — soft non-bouncers are overripe or rotten. Seeds inside turn brown. Sour even when ripe; ripeness is color and firmness, not sweetness.
- How to harvest
- Dry-pick by hand or with a berry comb/scoop, working through the low wiry mats; home growers don't flood-harvest. Pick when the plants are dry.
- How often
- One or two picks in autumn; berries hold on the plant in good condition for weeks, so no rush — but finish before hard freezes and winter wet.
- Storing the crop
- Exceptional keeper for a berry: 1–2 months refrigerated in a sealed bag; a year frozen (freeze raw, no prep). Cook into sauce, juice, or dry them; too tart to eat raw for most.
Companions
Blueberries, Lingonberry, Heather
Pests & problems
Did you know?
Ripe cranberries are full of air pockets and bounce — growers actually test them that way.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com