evergreen huckleberries in the ground

Around the end of February I planted five one-gallon evergreen huckleberries (Vaccinium ovatum) from Raintree. They have quite a few blossoms and a good bit of new growth. Within a day the squirrels were at them so I rigged a temporary cage from bird netting.

According to Raintree:

The best fruiting plant for the shade. A native of the Pacific Northwest. This evergreen bush is beautiful throughout the year. In the spring and the fall the foliage turns from green to a striking bronze color. The late summer ripening berries are a dark blue; tart and flavorful. The fruit is a little smaller than a blueberry. The shrub grows best in the shade where it can reach 6-8 feet without pruning. In the sun it only grows to 3 feet tall. It has a compact, full growth habit and spaced about 3 feet apart makes a beautiful evergreen hedge.

I was thrilled to find something that was both evergreen and fruiting to put along this shady fence.

I did some searching for information on propagation. It's pretty interesting how many sites contain exactly the same text, with no indication of the original source! The upshot is that propagation from cuttings can be sporadic. Growing from seeds works well.

Propagation questions came to mind both because I might like to put more along the fence, and because the squirrel attack resulted in one broken branch, which I immediately stuck into a pot of wet dirt and have been watering. It seems to be doing fine, showing new growth, and a slight tug seems to offer resistance that suggests root formation. We'll see!

References:

• http://cahedb.wsu.edu/nativePlant/scripts/webDisplayPlant.asp?ID=nv051
• http://depts.washington.edu/propplnt/Plants/V_ovatu.htm
• http://www.gardenguides.com/taxonomy/california-huckleberry-vaccinium-ovatum/
• http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/vacova/all.html
• http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:dnJyV1ug92EJ:plants.usda.gov/plantguide/doc/cs_vaov2.doc+propagate+huckleberry