Oregon · Washington · Idaho
When to plant thimbleberry
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
Thimbleberry is a native, thornless raspberry relative that grows about 4 to 6 feet tall. Its soft, shallow-cupped berries are tart-sweet and too fragile to ship, so they're mostly eaten off the bush or made into jam. It grows wild on both sides of the Cascades and into Idaho.
Puts thimbleberry on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Sun
- Part shade to full sun
- Spacing
- 3 to 4 feet apart
- Planting depth
- Same depth as in the pot or nursery
- Frost
- Hardy perennial; comes back every year
- First harvest
- Berries the second summer
A thornless native relative of raspberries, with big maple-like leaves, white flowers and soft red berries in summer. It spreads by underground stems into a thicket, so give it a woodland edge or a wild corner.
Thimbleberry 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 |
|---|
| 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 |
Thimbleberry 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 | May | Jun |
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 thimbleberry
- Pick a spot in sun or part shade at a woodland edge or wild corner where it can spread, and loosen the soil.
- Plant potted thimbleberry on your city's dates, 3 to 4 feet apart. Same depth as in the pot or nursery.
- Water through the first summer. In late winter, cut canes that fruited to the ground, as with raspberries.
- Harvest: Pick in midsummer when the berries are deep red and slip off the core easily. They're soft and crumbly, so eat them fresh or make jam the same day.
Growing thimbleberry 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
Thimbleberry is common in west-side woods and spreads into patches in part shade.
East of the Cascades
Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho
Thimbleberry grows wild along forest edges and streams east of the Cascades; give it some shade and summer water in gardens.
More thimbleberry varieties
More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.
Thimbleberry
Sold as the wild species by native plant nurseries. Thornless, with big soft leaves, white flowers and soft red berries.
Both sides
How much to grow
How many to plant
Plant 3 or more, 3 to 4 feet apart. It spreads by underground stems into a patch.
What to expect
A small patch gives a few cups at a time through midsummer.
Storing the harvest
Soft and crumbly; eat fresh or make jam the same day.
Key numbers
- Both sidesNative range
- 4–6 ftHeight
- July–AugustHarvest
- NoneThorns
Top care tip: Cut fruited canes to the ground each winter and pull suckers that stray.
Growing notes
What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.
A native raspberry relative
Thimbleberry grows wild across the Northwest, from coastal forest edges to eastern mountains. It's a thornless shrub with big, soft, maple-shaped leaves, white flowers in late spring and flat, cup-shaped red berries in summer.
The flowers feed native bees and the fruit feeds birds, which makes it a good plant for a wildlife hedge or the edge of a wooded yard.
Planting and spreading
Plant in part shade to full sun in ordinary soil with some moisture. It grows in shade but fruits more in sun. Water through the first summer.
Thimbleberry spreads by underground stems and forms a thicket in a few years. That's ideal for a wild corner but not a tidy bed. Pull or mow suckers that stray.
Harvest and care
Berries ripen in mid to late summer. They're soft and seedy, with a tart-sweet flavor, and they crumble easily, so they don't travel. Eat them fresh or make jam.
Like raspberries, each cane fruits once. Cut old canes to the ground in late winter to keep the patch open.
Good neighbors
Grows well with
- Salal and sword fern. The same woodland edge in part shade.
- Salmonberry. Ripens earlier, so together they give berries from late spring through summer.
Pests and problems
What most often goes wrong with thimbleberry in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.
Spreading
Signs: Suckers pop up away from the patch.
What to do: Pull or mow strays.
Old canes
Signs: Dead, gray canes crowd the patch.
What to do: Cut canes that fruited to the ground in winter.
Common questions about growing thimbleberry
When should I plant thimbleberry 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.
Are thimbleberries edible?
Yes. They're soft, tart-sweet and good fresh or in jam.
Does thimbleberry have thorns?
No. Unlike most of its raspberry and blackberry relatives, it's thornless.
Does thimbleberry spread?
Yes, by underground stems. Plant it where a thicket is welcome.
See what else to plant in March or April.
Huckleberries
Oregon grape
Red-flowering currant
Serviceberry
Camas
Salmonberry
Salal
Kinnikinnick
Western columbine
Douglas aster
Oregon sunshine
Pacific ninebark
Sword fern
Oregon iris