Lingonberries & Pricing
DeGrandchamp’s is pleased to announce the release and distribution to the North American market of two new Lingonberry cultivars.
The University of Wisconsin has released ‘Regal’. ‘Koralle’ comes from the Netherlands and Germany to the U.S. Both cultivars are large fruited varieties for fresh and processing markets.
‘Minus’ is the native North American species found in northeast United States and in Canada. ‘Regal’ is licensed by the University of Wisconsin with a royalty of $.05 per plant (plant propagation prohibited).
Lingonberries are native to Scandinavia and Northern Germany as well as North America from Newfoundland to northern Minnesota to Alaska. Lingonberries are a wild relative of the blueberry and cranberry. They are commercially developed in northern Europe. About 20 million pounds
are harvested from the wild each year. Lingonberries have a potential for cultivation in the United States and Canada.
The lingonberry has the tartness of the cranberry but the taste is not as bitter. The seeds are tiny and unnoticeable. The juice can be a supplement to cranberry juice. Lingonberries can be substituted for cranberries in recipes.
The plants are best suited for porous sand or sandy loam soils with a ph range of 4.5 to 6.0. They can be grown on upland acid soils. A 2% organic matter in the soil is essential for good growth. Like growing blueberries, mulching and irrigation are needed for optimum growth and productivity.
Lingonberry plants grow to a maximum height of about a foot and rapidly spread by rhizomes to form a dense ground cover. They are susceptible to winter injury if there is no snow cover. A winter mulch of straw or light weight
freeze cover may be needed in some areas.
Commercial growers plant rows on four foot centers with one foot between plants. Harvesting is performed by using lowbush blueberry rakes. Cleaning
and grading the fruit can be done using existing blueberry cleaning equipment. Lingonberries offer a unique opportunity for growers to diversify into a new commercial crop.
