Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Description

The bearberry is an evergreen, trailing shrub (it grows as a groundcover), with glossy, small leaves, white to pink flowers pollinated by bumblebees, and red berry-like, actually drupes, in the fall. Each drupe contains 4-5+ stont seeds with a very hard endocarp.
The foliage will gradually change to reddish-green and purple towards fall.

An evergreen carpet is always desirable for various areas of the garden and the bearberry can be very useful as an alternative to lawns in hard to mow places; best in rocky, sandy locations in full sun. It will also trail nicely over a sunny rock wall. The red fruits are long lasting into the winter, if they are not eaten by birds and anybody else (bears, wild turkeys, deers…).

It has had quite a few medicinal uses over the years (the leaves), mainly as an herbal drug with antibacterial properties, and also employed by North American Native People in smoking mixes (from where the name Kinnikinnick). The fruits were eaten in various preparations, and also used dried as beads on necklaces.

Employed in herbal drugs and teas in Europe, and also listed as a medicinal crop in Canada.

Germination: the stony seeds require mechanical scarification or another method that can be safely used by gardeners for any Arctostaphylos species is the ‘smoking’ method. It was inspired after natural wildfires which most often stimulate the germination of various species with hard seed coverings, and it involves burning a layer of pine needles over a flat with sown seed stones. The stony endocarp usually cracks open during the burning.
Or, cover the stony seeds mixed with soil (even the whole fruits) with pine needles (or similar plant parts) in a fire pit and give a good burning to the pile; let them cool off before sowing.

Also, the seeds have dormant embryos. The scarification has to be followed by dormancy breaking treatments. According to reliable sources these are: 2-4 months of warm/moist stratification followed by 2-3 months of cold/moist stratification.

The easiest method is, as always, to sow outdoors in the fall/early winter and be patient. Let the nature take its course over a couple of years; such seeds usually germinate erratic (meaning not all at the same time).