Well, here's to hoping for a heavier harvest next year - I got some huckleberries from a local farmers' market and they were much, much tastier than even my home-grown blueberries.

I would love to grow this plant. It is native to my area of Northern California. I’m a little gun shy because I’ve had one plant I bought perhaps ten years ago as a one gallon plant and it is just a few stems only about 1’ in height. What sort of culture does it need?

Echolane: I don't have the full answer, but since huckleberries are related to blueberries, I think if you research growing blueberries in your area you'll find what you need for growing huckleberries.

PacNorWreck: Have you found the solution to the issue of fruit not being produced? I want to try growing huckleberries. I'm in Iowa.

Also: you're growing blueberry shrubs on your roof!?!? Wow. Please post info on this if you wouldn't mind, and also a few pics. Where are you located, what zone? And what is the specific blueberry type, what sort of conditions are they in, what is the soil you used, fertilizer, etc. I'm so impressed!

@LinaM, if you are referring to the western evergreen huckleberry that was the original subject of this discussion, Vaccinium ovatum, then I would reconsider. Like many PNW natives, it has some very specific growing requirements that are rarely met outside of its native range. And unlike its blueberry cousins, it has not been successfully domesticated as a crop. I doubt it would even survive in Iowa, let alone thrive and produce fruit. But there are several other plants that are commonly referred to as 'huckleberry' and one or more of those may be suitable.

btw, if you visit the Container Gardening forum, you can call up dozens of thread on growing blueberries in containers. In many places, that is the best way to grow them. Here is a link to a publication by the largest wholesale blueberry grower in the country with how-to's for the home gardener, including growing in containers: https://www.fallcreeknursery.com/home-gardeners/how-to-grow

gardengal48, thank you so much for your advice, including such helpful details. Yes, I was referring to Vaccinium ovatum. You are probably right about this not working outside of it's native range. Though I have seen this work for some perennials, it seems not so much for trees and shrubs. I will check the other resources you mention, and will also see what I can find about other shrubs related to blueberries that might grow well where I am. Much of my interest comes from wanting to grow at home a large variety of fruit types. I don't have a huge amount of space, so shrubs and some dwarf trees are mostly what I'm looking at.

It may be that any one V. ovatum huckleberry plant is not blooming at the same time as nearby blueberry plants. Some bushes in this Portland neighborhood fruited moderately last summer, even after the big heat.