Arctostaphylos (uva-ursi)

Tara Luna USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana 59936 (406) 888-7835 http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/azpmc

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Family Scientific Name:	Ericaceae
Family Common Name:	Heath family
Scientific Name:	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.
Common Name:	Bearberry
Species Code:	ARCUVA
Ecotype:	Lodgepole pine forest understory species, West Glacier, Glacier National Park
General Distribution:	A. uva-ursi is a circumboreal species; occurring from Alaska to Labrador, south to coastal California, Idaho, Montana, and in Rockies to New Mexico, and east to central and eastern U.S. It is also found in Eurasia.
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	vegetative
ProductType:	Container (plug)
Stock Type:	800 ml container
Time To Grow:	1 Years
Target Specifications:	Stock Type: Container cutting<br> Height: 7 cm<br> Caliper: 7 mm<br> Root System: firm plug in 800 ml container.
Propagule Collection:	Vegetative Propagation Method: Pre-Rooting Type of Cutting: Spring Hardwood Stem cuttings taken in early April. Late Spring/Early Summer Softwood Stem cuttings taken from mid May to mid June. Softwood stem cuttings must be taken from leafy softwood material before the terminal bud has set; from early May to early June. Stem tip cuttings must be at least 5 mm in diameter and 10 cm long. The best stem cuttings have at least 5 cm of one year old wood. Donor branches that are prostrate to the soil line or are slightly buried by duff often have pre-formed root initials present along the woody stem. When made into individual cuttings, this donor material produces the best quality rooted cutting and have enough stored stem tissue reserves to survive overwintering conditions in the outdoor nursery.
Propagule Processing:	Stem cuttings need to be kept moist and cool during collection.
Pre-Planting Treatments:	Both hardwood and softwood tip cuttings were cut into 10 to 15 cm lengths, .5 to .7 cm diameter, with one third leaves removed from the base of stem, and treated with 2,000 or 3,000 ppm liquid IBA. Cuttings were placed in mistbed with bottom heat at 21C. Cuttings had excellent root development 4 weeks after treatment.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	The outdoor mistbed has automatic intermittent mist that is applied at 6 second intervals every 6 minutes. Too frequent misting will result in leaf and stem rot. Misting frequency is increased or decreased according to daily outdoor temperature and wind. Bottom heat is maintained at 21C with heating cables buried 12 cm beneath rooting medium. Rooting medium is 50% perlite and 50% sand. Mistbed is covered with shadecloth during rooting. After cuttings are potted, they are moved to an outdoor shadehouse for 4 weeks. They are later moved to full sun exposure in the outdoor nursery and are irrigated with Rainbird automatic irrigation system in early morning until containers are thoroughly leached. Average growing season of nursery is from late April after snowmelt until October 15th. First avereage frost is September 5th, although freezing temperatures can be expected anytime in Glacier National Park.
Establishment Phase:	Time to Transplant: 8 weeks. Cuttings that were pre- rooted were lifted out of mistbed after adequete root systems were formed. Roots generate from the nodes below the surface of the rooting media. Rooting %: Hardwood Cuttings 66% to 95% using 2,000 pp IBA. Softwood Cuttings: 76% to 100% using 3,000 pp IBA.
Length of Establishment Phase:	8 weeks
Active Growth Phase:	After cuttings were lifted from the mistbed, they were potted into 800 ml containers.Growing medium used is 6:1:1 milled sphagnum peat,perlite, and vermiculite with Osmocote controlled release fertilizer (13N:13P2O5:13K2O; 8 to 9 month release rate at 21C) and Micromax fertilizer (12%S, 0.1%B, 0.5%Cu, 12%Fe, 2.5%Mn, 0.05%Mo, 1%Zn) at the rate of 4 grams of Osmocote and 2 grams of Micromax per conetainer. Cuttings were irrigated after potting and placed in the shadehouse for 4 weeks. After establishment in the shadehouse, plants were moved to full sun exposure in the outdoor nursery.
Length of Active Growth Phase:	12 weeks
Hardening Phase:	Plants are fertilized with 10-20-20 liquid NPK at 200 ppm in the fall, pots are flushed with clear water, one final irrigation is applied before overwintering.
Length of Hardening Phase:	4 weeks
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	Total Time To Harvest: 1.5 years Harvest Date: September and October of second year. Storage Conditions: Overwinter in outdoor nursery under insulating foam cover and snow. Special precautions should be taken for over-wintering this species in containers so that the cuttings do not receive excessive moisture during storage.It is critical that cuttings be rooted earlyin the growing season, potted into a well-aerated medium and put on as much root growth as possible before over-winter storage.
Length of Storage:	5 months
Other Comments:	See Seed Propagation Protocol. A. uva-ursi is a seral, shade intolerant species; sometimes a pioneer species at higher elevations. It is useful for planting on steep slopes for ersion control. Foliage and stems are browsed by deer, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep. Berries are eaten by birds, small mammals, deer, elk, and bears.
References:	Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock and Cronquist, University of Washington Press, 7th printing, 1985. Seeds of the Woody Plants in the United States, Agriculture Handbook No. 450, U.S.F.S., Washington D.C., 1974. Seeds of Woody Plants in North America, Young and Young, Dioscorides Press, 1992. Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Edition, Deno, N., published June,1993. Glacier Park Native Plant Nursery Propagation Records, unpublished. 1996 Revegetation Monitoring Report, Glacier National Park, Asebrook, J., Lamb,B., and Funk, T., unpublished.

Citation:

Luna, Tara; Evans, Jeff; Wick, Dale; Hosokawa, Joy; Johnson, Kathy. 2008. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng. plants 800 ml container; USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/05/05). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.