Caucasian whortleberry

Vaccinium arctostaphylos

A tall, ancient blueberry of Colchic forests; black berries for jam and leaves dried as a mountain tea.

Type: shrub · berries and small fruit
Hardiness: zones 6 to 9
Light: part shade
Size: about 8 ft tall, 6 ft wide
Harvest: August to September
From: Caucasus and the Black Sea coast
Here: Hardy in the Lake Erie shore climate (zone 6b to 7a), so it can live outdoors in the ground.

Good for: food, pollinators, wildlife.

Native to: Caucasus. Hardy in zones 6 to 9.

The story

This tall blueberry is a survivor from the forests that covered Europe before the ice ages, holding on around the Black Sea and in the Caucasus. Highland families gather the berries for jam, and the dried leaves are drunk as a tea in parts of Georgia and northern Turkey.

Planting

Part shade, acid soil rich in leaf mould, and humid air. It suits the edge of woodland.

Growing

Mulch with pine needles or bark and water with rain water where the tap water is hard.

Harvest and use

Clusters of black berries ripen in late summer and autumn. Use them like blueberries; they are sharper and good cooked.

What to watch for

Lime in the soil yellows it. Birds take the fruit.

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More berries and small fruit

General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home