Thimbleberry -- Rubus parviflorus Wild Cherry Farm
Thimbleberry -- Rubus parviflorus Wild Cherry Farm

Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)

$5.00

Thimbleberry is a wildlife rockstar. It is an attractive shrub with large white blossoms. Like most Rubus, I’m sure that it attracts a ton of native bees, though I couldn’t find a definitive resource. It is the host plant to 156 species of butterflies and moths (nwf.org), including the threatened Yellow-banded day-sphinx (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). Now, this plant is a spreader and can form dense colonies, so put it in a place where it can naturalize. The stems are thornless, so it is a bit easier to harvest the edible berries than other Rubus species. The berries are also very popular with the birds. Though Thimbleberry is self-fertile, it will produce more fruit when more shrubs are present.

Photo credit: Matt Levin

Thimbleberry is a wildlife rockstar. It is an attractive shrub with large white blossoms. Like most Rubus, I’m sure that it attracts a ton of native bees, though I couldn’t find a definitive resource. It is the host plant to 156 species of butterflies and moths (nwf.org), including the threatened Yellow-banded day-sphinx (mnfi.anr.msu.edu). Now, this plant is a spreader and can form dense colonies, so put it in a place where it can naturalize. The stems are thornless, so it is a bit easier to harvest the edible berries than other Rubus species. The berries are also very popular with the birds. Though Thimbleberry is self-fertile, it will produce more fruit when more shrubs are present.

Photo credit: Matt Levin

Life Cycle: Perennial

Sun Exposure: Full-Partial shade

Soil Moisture: Medium/wet – Dry

Height: 3-7 feet

Plant Spacing: 3-6 feet

Bloom Time: June-August

Bloom Color: White

Advantages: Caterpillar Favorite, Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer Resistant

Host Plant: 156 species of butterflies and moths use this as a caterpillar host plant in our area (nwf.org)

Specialist Bee: Andrena melanochroa (Johnson and Colla, 2023)

Beneficial for Endangered or Threatened Species: Yellow-banded day-sphinx (Proserpinus flavofasciata) (mnfi.anr.msu.edu)

Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023

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