Kinnikinnick

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

close up of pinkish urn-shaped flower and small rounded evergreen foliage

Plant Description

Kinnikinnick is a low-growing, evergreen groundcover native to much of the Northern Hemisphere, including the Pacific Northwest. It forms dense mats of glossy, dark green leaves and produces small pink urn-shaped flowers that attract bumblebees in very early spring. Bright red berries persist into winter and are an important food source for birds and mammals. Highly drought-tolerant and adapted to poor, sandy, or rocky soils, its resilience and year-round cover make it an important species in dry forests and open rocky sites, as well as parking lots, roadsides, and gardens.

Plant Details

Life Forms	Groundcover Shrub
Habitats	Balds Bluffs Forest openings Gardens Green roof Hillsides Little Habitats Mixed hardwood-conifer forests Oak savannas Oak woodlands Parklands Railroad tracks Residential yards Rights of way Roadsides Trailsides Woodlands
Soil and Moisture Conditions	Dry to moist Low fertility soil Rocky or gravelly soil Sandy soil Well drained
Special Uses	Attracts birds Attracts hummingbirds Attracts pollinators and or other beneficial insects Blooms April Blooms February-March Blooms June Blooms May Deer resistant Drought tolerant Erosion control Evergreen Flowering Flowers pink Flowers white Good for rock garden Good for shady woodland garden Good groundcover Ornamental Perennial Produces berries Produces fruit Produces nectar Produces pollen Produces seeds Provides soil stabilization Provides wildlife habitat Woody
Shade Preference	Full sun Part shade
Mature Height	6” – 12”