Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 34 ecoregions — 26 climate-resilient through 2070 · 8 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Colorado Rockies forests

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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

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Eastern Canadian Forest-Boreal transition

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun / Part shade

Water

Low water

Spacing

24"

Habit

Prostrate creeping evergreen groundcover shrub

Care tips

•

Prioritize drainage; rot-prone in wet sites.

•

Avoid fertilization; bearberry thrives on lean soil.

•

Use for slope stabilization in sandy cold sites.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant in spring or fall in well-drained sandy or rocky acidic soil. Drought-tolerant; rot-prone in wet conditions.

Transplanting

Transplants well from container stock at small sizes.

Early growth

Water sparingly; bearberry is drought-adapted.

Maturity

Mature mats reach 6-12 inches tall and 2-5 feet wide. Slow but steady spread over years.

Propagation

Layering or stem cuttings.

Pollination

Self-fertile

Urn-shaped flowers worked by bumblebees + native solitary bees.

Plants don't grow alone

Nectar forage

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)

Fruit forage

Bird

Eastern songbirds (multi-species) (multiple species (Passeriformes))

Berries persist through winter providing late-cold-season forage.

For people

Edible with preparation

Berries technically edible but mealy + insipid raw; historic Indigenous use as a food + medicinal. Berries primary value is wildlife forage.

Edible parts

fruits

Culinary use

Cooked into preserves historically; rarely eaten raw due to texture.

Traditional medicinal use

Historic Indigenous use as urinary tonic + traditional medicine.

Native range

Native across 4 US states.

AHS heat range

1-6

Native ecoregions

Naturally belongs in 13 ecoregions — its native range crosses a state or province each one spans (not necessarily this exact habitat).

Blue Mountains forests

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California coastal sage and chaparral

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Eastern Cascades forests

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Klamath-Siskiyou forests

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Mojave desert

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North Cascades conifer forests

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Northern California coastal forests

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Puget lowland forests

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Climate notes

•

NC State lists Arctostaphylos uva-ursi for USDA hardiness zones 3a-7b across circumboreal range (North America, Europe, Asia).

•

Cold-tolerant; declines in hot humid southern climates.

•

Few significant pest or disease problems in suitable cold sandy conditions.

In the designer

Growth over time

4-12" tall · 19-48" spread

Spreads to form mat; reliable bloom.

Design roles: Filler · Structure

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Bearberry (kinnikinnick)

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations