Shrubs🌿 Native to the NetherlandsVery hardy — tolerates frost down to -30°C

Crowberry

Empetrum nigrum

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Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) is a low, evergreen dwarf shrub of acidic, nutrient-poor sandy and peaty soils. The plant forms creeping, mat-forming branches with narrow, needle-like leaves that remain green all year. In April and May, Crowberry blooms with small pink to purple-red flowers. After flowering, black berries are produced. These berries are edible but usually taste somewhat bitter and are primarily consumed by birds. Crowberry is well-suited for heath gardens, dune heaths, peat-like plantings, poor sandy gardens, and natural forest edges on acidic soil. The species grows best on lime-poor, nutrient-poor, and unfertilized soil. Fertilization, calcareous soil, and rich compost-heavy soil are unsuitable.

Year calendar

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
🌸Blooms
🍓Bears fruit

Pruning period

✂️Best pruning period: Mar–Apr

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
✂️ Pruning period

Best pruning period

Crowberry requires little pruning. Light trimming in early spring can help keep the plant compact. Do not prune deeply into old, bare wood.

Botanical profile

Site & soil

Sun, Half shade

Soil type: Sand, Peat

Moisture need: Moderately moist, Moist, Wet / marshy

pH: Acidic (<5.5), Slightly acidic (5.5–6.5)

Nutrient richness: Very nutrient-poor, Nutrient-poor

Humus content: Peaty, Humus-poor

Water drainage: Moisture-retentive, Well draining, Strongly draining

Appearance & season

Mature height: 15-45 cm

Bloom: Apr-May

Autumn colour: No striking autumn color. Crowberry is evergreen and retains its dark green foliage throughout the year.

Properties

Salt sensitive: No

Edible: The black berries are edible but typically taste bland to bitter.

Scent: The flowers have no distinct scent. Crowberry is primarily notable for its evergreen growth and black berries.

Ecological value

Crowberry is valuable as an evergreen structural plant in heath, dune, and peat environments. The black berries are eaten by birds, which help in seed dispersal. Its low, dense growth habit provides shelter for small insects, spiders, and soil-dwelling organisms. The flowers are small and mainly wind-pollinated; therefore, Crowberry is not a strong nectar source. Its primary ecological value lies in its evergreen cover, berries, soil structure, and its association with nutrient-poor, acidic natural habitats.

Food web & Biodiversity

🐛 Caterpillars & mothsUseful

🐝 Bees & bumblebeesLimited

🪰 HoverfliesUseful

🦋 ButterfliesLimited

🪲 Beetles & insectsVery useful

🐦 BirdsExtremely useful

🐿️ MammalsVery useful

🐞 Other animalsUseful

Crowberry is particularly valuable for its black berries, evergreen growth, and low cover. It is less important as a nectar plant but fits very well into acidic, nutrient-poor heath, dune, and peat plantings.

Distribution in the Netherlands

Source: NDFF Distribution Atlas / FLORON — period 2020–2026

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