Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
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
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
