Gaylussacia dumosa
| Gaylussacia dumosa | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Gaylussacia dumosa (common name: dwarf huckleberry)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in the autumn in a cold frame[1]. Stored seed requires 1 month warm stratification followed by 2 months cold[2]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots of lime-free compost and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer when they are at least 15cm tall.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[1].
Layering.
Division in spring.
Cultivation: Requires a lime-free moist peaty soil, thriving in sun or part shade[3][4]. Prefers a sandy soil[5]. Succeeds in wetter soils than other members of this genus[1].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[1].
A very ornamental[3] and freely suckering shrub[4].
Range: Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Florida and Louisiana.
Habitat: Dry barrens and pinelands[6] near the coast[5].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked and used as a pie filling etc[7][8][9]. Juicy and deliciously spicy[9]. Watery and insipid[10], though commonly eaten according to another report[11]. Not much valued[5]. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[10].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Lasiococcus dumosus. Vaccinium dumosum. V. hirtellum.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.