Thimbleberry

With its large maple leaf shaped leaves, showy flowers, thornless stems, and delicious summer fruit, Thimbleberry makes a particularly interesting addition to a naturalized garden or woodland planting!

Thimbleberry is a showy native shrub with delicious bright red fruit. The berries resemble raspberries but have a distinctive thimble like shape and are made up of numerous tiny fruitlets. They are soft, juicy, and have a pleasantly sweet-tart flavour. Thimbleberries can be enjoyed fresh or cooked into jams and jellies, and are also well suited to making fruit leather and other traditional foods.

Showy white flowers appear in summer, followed by the bright red fruit. The large, soft, fuzzy leaves are deeply lobed and distinctly maple-shaped, often growing 10–20 cm across and sometimes wider than a person’s outstretched hand. Unlike raspberries, Thimbleberry has smooth, thornless stems, making it particularly pleasant to grow and handle.

Native to British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, Thimbleberry is found in Alberta mainly in the southwest, particularly in the foothills and Montane areas south of Crowsnest Pass. It naturally grows in moist woodland, forest edges, clearings, thickets, and along streams, often in cool, sheltered areas. Its spreading habit allows it to form colonies over time, making it well suited to naturalized gardens, food forests, and woodland plantings.

Hardiness Zone: 3

Height at Maturity: 1.5 meter (5 feet)

Spread: 1.5 meter (5 feet)

Soil Preference: Well drained, moist

Light Exposure: Full sun, partial shade

Pollination: Self-fertile 

Latin Name: Rubus parviflorus