Prepare a wide planting hole for the Vaccinium vitis-idaea ‘Red Pearl’ and loosen the soil with a fork. The cowberry bush prefers acidic soil, so your can improve your soil with a leaf or pine bark mulch or compost. Make sure the cowberry root ball is soaked well - place the bush in a bucket of luke-warm water prior to planting. Plant at the correct depth - the top of the root ball should be just slightly below ground level. Refill the hole with soil and press firmly down. Water immediately after planting. Planting distance is 25 cm. Plant the bushes in a sunny or part shady spot. The soil should be moisture free with good drainage.

Fertilise the cowberry in the spring with a fertilizer that doesn’t contain calcium (potash for example) and a mulch of garden compost. Shade is well tolerated. Water well during dry periods. The berries can be picked when they are a bright red and feel slightly soft to the touch. The first berries are ripe in July and the last of your cowberries can be picked in September/October. Cowberry bushes rarely need pruning. They become quite large after about 5 years and the bush can be rejuvenated by cutting back to a maximum of 30 cm in height.

Cowberries taste aromatic and slightly acidic. Pick the ripe cowberries very carefully, without damaging any of the existing flowers. These berries are extremely suitable for making fruit puree and are particularly delicious with dishes such as game, poultry and cheese. The berries also make lovely jam and juices.