Kinnikinnick

Highlights

Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), also called bearberry, is a manzanita that decided to lie down. It makes a low, evergreen mat of small glossy leaves on red-barked stems, about 6 inches high, that roots as it creeps across sand, rock and gravel. In spring it hangs out tiny pink-white bells; by fall it’s dotted with red berries that last into winter.

It grows across the northern half of the continent, from Alaska and the Rockies to the Great Lakes and New England. Where the soil is poor and fast-draining, few groundcovers look this good all year.

Is kinnikinnick a good choice for my yard?

Yes, if…

• You have sandy, rocky or gravelly soil. It wants rocky or sandy, acid soils that drain fast.
• Your winters are cold. Oregon State rates it hardy to USDA Zone 2.
• You want an evergreen groundcover. The leaves stay green all winter, and some forms turn red-bronze in the cold.
• You need to hold a dry slope or a sandy bank. NRCS uses it as a critical area stabilizer.
• You live by the coast. It has good salt spray tolerance.

Skip it if…

• Your summers are hot and humid. NC State says it does not do well in the eastern US because of wet, humid summer weather.
• Your soil is heavy clay or stays damp. Wet roots rot.
• You want fast cover. It spreads slowly, and it’s very difficult to transplant once it’s growing.
• You’ll walk on it. Give it its own space and put stepping stones through it.

Why kinnikinnick matters

The berries are winter food. Go Botany notes they’re slow to rot, so they hang on as emergency food for birds and mammals through the cold months. The Forest Service lists grouse and wild turkey among the birds that eat them, and bears eat the berries in fall and spring. Nature Alberta calls the fruit a favourite food of bears.

In spring, hummingbirds take nectar from the little bells. It’s also the host plant for the hoary elfin, a small brown butterfly that flies in late April and May. Mass Audubon says bearberry is the only documented host for the hoary elfin in Massachusetts, and Illinois calls it the host plant there too. NC State and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center also list the brown elfin and Freija fritillary.

Where kinnikinnick shines in your yard

• A sandy or gravelly slope where grass won’t grow.
• Spilling over a rock wall or the edge of a raised bed.
• Under pines, in open, acidic, sunny spots.
• A coastal garden with salt in the air.
• A rock garden, between boulders and around low conifers.
• A hell strip in a cool, northern climate.

How to grow kinnikinnick

Start with the right plants

Buy container plants or rooted cuttings. NRCS says bare root plantings are rarely effective, and plants dug from the wild usually die. Plant in spring or early fall.

Sun and soil

Full sun to part shade. In deep shade it thins out; the Forest Service says it becomes very rare when shade becomes intense. The soil matters more than anything: sandy or gritty, acidic, and fast-draining. Skip the compost and the fertilizer; NC State says fertilization is discouraged.

Water

Water lightly but regularly the first season while the roots settle. After that, it needs very little. Overwatering is the most common way to lose it.

Spacing and size

Plants grow 6 to 12 inches tall and spread 3 to 6 feet, more over many years. Set them about 2 feet apart and mulch between with gravel or wood chips while they knit together.

Which cultivar?

‘Massachusetts’ is a flat, fruitful form developed at Oregon State, and ‘Vancouver Jade’ has glossy leaves that turn red-bronze in winter. In warmer, drier gardens, Oregon State points to ‘Point Reyes’ for its heat and drought tolerance.

What are good pairings for kinnikinnick?

Pair it with other natives that like sun and sharp drainage: prairie smoke, bluebell bellflower, little bluestem and Pennsylvania sedge. In the West, add Oregon sunshine and broadleaf stonecrop.

Where can I buy kinnikinnick?

Native nurseries in the North and West carry it, often as named cultivars like ‘Massachusetts’ or ‘Vancouver Jade’. Look for well-rooted plants in pots, and never dig it from the wild. Start with our list of native plant nurseries or order online.

Kinnikinnick is proof that poor soil can be a gift. Give it sun, sand and almost no attention, and you get an evergreen carpet with flowers for hummingbirds and berries for winter birds. For its taller western cousins, see our beginner’s guide to native manzanitas. Happy planting!

Written by

Emily Lessard

Founder & Editor, The Plant Native

Emily Lessard is the founder and editor of The Plant Native, the site that helps homeowners across North America get started with native plants. She holds a Sustainable Landscapes certificate through the Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association, is finishing a Native Perennial Garden Design Certificate at Temple University, and is the author of Plant Native: A Practical Guide to Over 100 Native Plants of North America (Quarto, March 2027). She gardens outside Philadelphia in the 8.3 Southeastern Plains ecoregion.

Meet Emily

Similar plants

• American Holly
• Pines
• Rhododendron
• Holly
• Ferns
• Mountain Laurels
• Golden Alexander
• Irises
• Grasses and Sedges

Updated October 12, 2026Find more: Acidic · Deer Resistant · Evergreen · Evergreen Shrub

The ads on this site help pay real native plant nerds to research and write these guides.

Tap anywhere to close