Oregon · Washington · Idaho
When to plant Oregon grape
Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle Mar 1 – Apr 26; Spokane Apr 1 – May 27; Boise Mar 20 – May 15; Bend Apr 28 – Jun 23.
Your dates in
Oregon grape is a native evergreen shrub in the barberry family, grown for year-round leaves, early food for bees and berries for birds and jelly. Tall Oregon grape reaches 6 feet or more, while low Oregon grape (also called Cascade Oregon grape) is a knee-high groundcover for shade. Its bright yellow inner bark was used by Native peoples to make dye.
Puts Oregon grape on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Sun
- Full sun to full shade
- Spacing
- 3 to 5 feet apart
- Planting depth
- Same depth as in the pot
- Frost
- Hardy perennial; comes back every year
- First harvest
- Flowers and berries from the second or third year
Oregon's state flower: yellow blooms in early spring, blue berries in summer and holly-like leaves all year. It grows in sun or shade and needs no summer water once established. The tart berries make good jelly.
Oregon grape planting dates
| Towns | Plant in the garden |
|---|---|
| Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Spokane, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| Bend and Redmond, OR | Apr 28 – Jun 23 |
| Astoria, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.
| Gresham, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR | Mar 5 – Apr 30 |
| Corvallis and Albany, OR, Eugene, OR, Salem, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Cottage Grove, OR | Mar 13 – May 8 |
| McMinnville and Newberg, OR | Mar 4 – Apr 29 |
| Ashland and Talent, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|---|
| Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|
| Bend and Redmond, OR, Klamath Falls, OR | Apr 28 – Jun 23 |
|---|---|
| Burns, OR | Apr 30 – Jun 25 |
| Lakeview, OR | Apr 23 – Jun 18 |
| Madras, OR, Prineville, OR | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
| Baker City, OR, Enterprise and Joseph, OR, John Day, OR | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
|---|---|
| Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| La Grande, OR | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Olympia, WA | Mar 18 – May 13 |
| Shelton, WA | Mar 16 – May 11 |
| Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|
| Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|---|
| Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Sequim, WA | Mar 10 – May 5 |
| Centralia and Chehalis, WA | Mar 11 – May 6 |
|---|---|
| Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Winthrop and Twisp, WA | Apr 3 – May 29 |
| Ellensburg, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Ephrata and Quincy, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA, Walla Walla, WA | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| Goldendale, WA | Apr 7 – Jun 2 |
| Yakima, WA | Mar 27 – May 22 |
| Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|
| Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
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| Lewiston, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| Moscow, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID, Emmett, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| McCall, ID | May 11 – Jul 6 |
| Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Salmon, ID | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
Oregon grape year at a glance
| Task | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | Mar | Apr | ||||||||||
| Harvest | Jul | Aug | ||||||||||
| In bloom | Mar | Apr |
Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates. Harvest months are for an established plant.
How to grow Oregon grape
- Pick a sunny spot with soil that drains well, and mix in an inch or two of compost.
- Plant Oregon grape shrubs on your city's dates, 3 to 5 feet apart. Same depth as in the pot.
- Water through the first summer, then leave it alone. Cut a few of the oldest stems to the ground every few years to keep it full.
- Harvest: Pick the dusty-blue berries in late summer. They're very tart and seedy; cook them into jelly with sugar, or leave them for the birds.
Growing Oregon grape in your part of the Northwest
The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.
West-side valleys
Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon
Tall Oregon grape is common in west-side woods and gardens, and handles shade, clay and summer drought once established.
East of the Cascades
Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho
Oregon grape also grows wild east of the Cascades. In hot, open sites, part shade keeps the leaves from scorching.
More Oregon grape varieties
More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.
Tall Oregon grape
Mahonia aquifolium, Oregon's state flower, has holly-like leaves, bright yellow spring flowers and blue berries. Tough and drought-tolerant once established, it grows in sun or shade.
Both sides
Low Oregon grape
Mahonia nervosa, also called Cascade Oregon grape, stays low and spreads slowly under trees. It thrives in dry shade where little else grows and feeds early bees.
Coast and west side
Compacta
A shorter, denser form of tall Oregon grape, usually 2 to 3 feet tall. Its glossy leaves turn bronze-red in winter, making it a tidy choice for borders.
Both sides
Creeping Oregon grape
Mahonia repens is a low, spreading native of the drier interior. Very cold-hardy and drought-tolerant, it makes a good evergreen groundcover for east-side gardens.
East side
How much to grow
How many to plant
Plant 3 or more, 3 to 5 feet apart, for a hedge or screen. Low Oregon grape (Cascade Oregon grape) works as a groundcover at 2 feet apart.
What to expect
A few cups of tart berries per shrub.
Storing the harvest
Too sour to eat raw for most people. Cook into jelly with sugar and freeze or can it.
Key numbers
- Full sun to full shadeLight
- Early spring, yellowBloom
- None once establishedSummer water
- Tart, best as jellyBerries
Top care tip: After the first summer, leave it alone, and cut a few of the oldest stems to the ground every few years.
Growing notes
What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.
Where it grows wild
Oregon grape is Oregon's state flower and one of the most common native shrubs in Northwest woods and forest edges. Tall Oregon grape grows upright to about six feet and handles sun or shade. Low Oregon grape, also called dull Oregon grape, stays under two feet and carpets shady forest floors under Douglas firs.
Despite the name, it isn't related to grapes. The spiny, holly-like leaves stay green all year and often turn reddish or bronze in winter.
Easy care
Oregon grape is about as low-maintenance as shrubs get. It grows in most soils, takes sun or deep shade, and once settled in it needs no summer water at all. Water through the first summer, mulch, then leave it alone. Every few years, cut a few of the oldest stems to the ground in late winter to keep it full and leafy at the base.
Leaf spot and rust can appear in crowded, damp spots. Giving plants room for airflow is usually enough.
Wildlife value
The bright yellow flower clusters open in early spring, when few other plants are blooming, and are a key early food for native bumblebees and hummingbirds. Birds eat the berries in summer, and the evergreen, prickly leaves make safe cover for small birds. It's a great choice for a shady wildlife hedge or a planting under trees where little else grows.
Good neighbors
Grows well with
- Salal and sword fern. The same dry shade under trees.
- Red-flowering currant. Blooms at the same time and feeds the same early bees and hummingbirds.
Pests and problems
What most often goes wrong with Oregon grape in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.
Leaf spot and rust
Signs: Brown or orange spots on the leaves in wet, crowded spots.
What to do: Give plants airflow and rake up fallen leaves.
Leggy shrubs
Signs: Bare stems with leaves only at the top.
What to do: Cut a third of the oldest stems to the ground in late winter.
Common questions about growing Oregon grape
When should I plant Oregon grape in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?
Plant in the garden: Mar 1 – Apr 26 in Portland and Seattle, Apr 1 – May 27 in Spokane, Mar 20 – May 15 in Boise and Apr 28 – Jun 23 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.
Can you eat Oregon grape berries?
Yes. They're edible but very tart and seedy. Most people cook them with sugar and strain out the seeds to make jelly, or mix them with sweeter fruit.
Is Oregon grape related to grapes?
No. It's in the barberry family; the name comes from the dusty-blue berry clusters that look a little like small grapes.
Does Oregon grape grow in shade?
Yes. Both types tolerate shade, and low Oregon grape is especially good as a groundcover under trees. Tall Oregon grape flowers and fruits more in sun but still grows well in shade.
See what else to plant in March or April.
Huckleberries
Red-flowering currant
Serviceberry
Camas
Thimbleberry
Salmonberry
Salal
Kinnikinnick
Western columbine
Douglas aster
Oregon sunshine
Pacific ninebark
Sword fern
Oregon iris