Vaccinium corymbosum + ODRŮDY highbush blueberry

Highbush blueberry is native to North America. It is a deciduous shrub 1-2m tall and wide producing edible, sweet berries in summer. Individual varieties differ in habit, fruit size and also slightly the taste. New, modern varieties are bred to eliminate cracking and to enhance hardiness. Flowers are small, creamy white, urn-shaped from late May. Leaves are deciduous, rather thick, elliptic, rich green, turning orange, red and burgundy purple in autumn.

Highbush blueberry produces best quality fruit and reliable crop if at least two or best three different varieties are cultivated in the same garden. They mature once the fruit skin turns rich blue and are easily picked up. If the fruit is reluctant to separate from its stalk it is not fully mature and sweet but can be picked up for further processing where ripe fruit could be too soft. Just when the fruit becomes sweetest the birds find it as well so protection (nettings) is recommended.

VARIETIES

Early:

Chanticleer – early, large berries in terminal racemes which makes picking up easier, sweet taste, consistent and high yield, vigorous grower to 2-2.5m tall and 1.5-1.8m wide.

Duke – early, large fruits in large racemes in all picking season, their size is controlled by regular pruning, they are sweetest if picked very mature i.e. about 2 weeks after they become blue or after a few days of cold storage, wide shrub, high yield.

Emblue – early, large fruits in small clusters ripen already from July, sweet taste with limited tartness, very dark blue skin, grows fast into an upright and compact shrub of equal height and spread to abt. 1.5m.

Hortblue Poppins – early, small-sized fruit with firm skin and juicy texture. The taste is sweet and similar to forest blueberries. The shrub is upright with strong branches and quite compact - ideal for balconies and patios. Reliably self-fertile. Hardy to about -29°C.

Patriot – early, very popular, reliable crop, high yields, great taste. It makes lower shrubs and withstands poorer soil quality – even some clay.

Reka – early, most similar taste to forest blueberries, small fruit, very hardy, good and reliable yield, strong growth to about 1.8m, pruning recommended.

Spartan – medium early, harvest from mid July, very large fruit of excellent, tangy wine-like, sweet taste. Vigorous grower to 2m, bearing large clusters of fruit. Hardy to -29°C and very resistant to late frosts. Bred in 1936.


Midseason:

Bluecrop – midseason, popular, very productive with high yields, resistant to cracking, pruning recommended, strong growth to 1.8m.

Bluegold – midseason, American variety forming bushy and dense shrubs with upright stems. Berries are medium sized, sweet, only slightly acidic, and very good. Heavy and regular cropper. Size 1.3-1.5m. No problems or requirements, self-fertile.

Bluejay – midseason, medium-sized fruit, resistant to cracking, sweet wine-like taste, upright bush to 1.8m.

Blueray – midseason, very hardy, suitable for colder regions with shorter summers, large yield of large, solid fruit, tastes best if fruit matures on the bush, upright shrub to 1.7m.

Chandler – midseason, extra large berries, possibly the largest blueberry fruit cultivated nowadays (as of 2010), delicious taste, firm skin, juicy texture. Harvest begins in mid August and lasts for as long as 6 weeks. Medium vigorous growth, forming spreading shrubs wider than tall. Bred by ARS in Oregon, USA, in 1995.

Chippewa – extremely cold-hardy, compact growing blueberry with sweet and juicy fruit from July until early August; height 0.9-1.2m, suitable for planters.

Elizabeth – midseason, very tolerant to diseases and less than ideal soils, vigorous and upright grower, large to mid-sized fruits from mid-August, excellent taste balancing great sweetness and tartness, aromatic, late blooming helps avoid late frosts, nearly self-fertile, size to abt. 1.8 m.

Goldtraube 71 - midseason, popular variety with long racemes of mid-sized fruit, sweet wine-like taste, long harvesting season, very hardy.

Northland - midseason, very hardy, smaller fruit of similar rich taste like forest blueberries, long harvesting period, upright but smaller growth to about 1m.

Northsky – extremely hardy to -40 °C, compact to dwarf reaching abt. 60 cm, crossbred with wild blueberry (c. angustifolium) and the taste is similar yet sweeter, small to mid-sized and very dark blue fruits, heavy cropper, maturing time from mid-August for 2 months, suitable for pots.

Poppins – medium-sized fruits with a firm skin that ensures durability and offers a pleasant crunch like cherries. The fruits are sweet and juicy and ripen from the second half of July. It forms dense and compact shrubs about one meter in height and spread.

Sunshine Blue - a very handsome semi-dwarf shrub reaching only about one meter tall and wide with evergreen leaves and tasty fruit in July and August. It is self-fertile (no pollinator needed) and keeps compact without pruning.

Late:

Berkeley – late, very tasty, large fruit and high yields, irregular habit with arching branches, best for warmer regions with good summers in rich soil.

Brigitta (Brigitta Blue) – late, smaller shrubs to 1.3m, mid-sized fruit, resistant to cracking, long shelf life, tastes best if picked up fully mature or after some time of cold storage, not for cold regions with short summers.

Darrow – very late, forming upright shrubs up to 2 m tall, extra large fruit of delicious, sweet fruit with a slight, typical forest blueberry acidity. Fruit is resistant to cracking during long-lasting wet weather. Pruning advisable.

Jersey – late, strong shrubs up to 2m, reliable crop, large fruit in the first harvest, smaller fruit in later harvest but of the same sweet taste and quality, hardy and suitable also for colder regions, pruning recommended.


CULTIVATION

Highbush blueberries are fussy plants as far as soil conditions. They need full sun (unlike forest blueberries), very well-drained, acidic soil (ph 3,5-4) rich in organic matter that will remain moist but NOT WET throughout the season. If you are uncertain of your soil quality prepare a border 40-50 cm deep, fill it with quality peat mixed with good lime-free compost and after planting mulch it with bark. Keep it moist by regular watering. If your garden ground is not suitable for growing blueberries grow them in large containers which is a modern way used also in eco-farming where organic plants are grown. This way you can be sure the plants are always free draining and solely in the soil you provided. Use selective fertilizers for ericaceous or fruiting plants. Pruning is not necessary but some varieties may benefit from regular pruning (after harvest) producing larger fruit or limiting early season crop of inferior fruit. Bushes are usually quite hardy, some to even -40°C but fruiting may be endangered in winters of lower temperatures than -30°C (USDA zone 5).

Last update 18-09-2014; 17-01-2024