Vaccinium corymbosum
A true North American native, the Highbush Blueberry is also known by the common names: blue huckleberry, tall huckleberry, swamp huckleberry, high blueberry, and swamp blueberry. Thought to have been cultivated by Native Americans for thousands of years based on archeological evidence, the berries from this native are a primary food source for sedentary and migrating birds, bears, deer, and other small mammals. Today, the Highbush Blueberry is the most common commercially grown blueberry in North America, coming in “Northern” and “Southern” specialized cultivars. The shrub has excellent fall color and is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. The pH requirements for this native are very acidic (4.5 to 5.5). Planting instruction can be found at boydnursery.net/planting/.
| Classification | |
|---|---|
| Diseases & Insects | Susceptible to chlorosis (yellowing of leaves) if planted in alkaline soils (high pH); infrequently affected by stem blight, root rot, anthracnose, cane cankers, mildew and botrytis; be vigilant of blueberry maggot, cherry fruit worm, and spotted wing drosophila that may attack the fruit |
| Family | Ericaceae |
| Flowers | Flowers are white, possibly tinged pink or pinkish, urn-shaped, 1/3" long, May, just before leaves have unfolded; borne in axillary racemes in great quantities; berry is green to reddish tinged before maturing to blue-black, bloomy, rounded, 1/4 to 1/2" across; formed in abundance from July to August |
| Growth Rate | |
| Hardiness Range | zone 3a – 7b *need help finding your hardiness zone? |
| Leaves | Leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1 to 3 1/2" long, half as wide, acutish, cuneate, entire, dark green above, paler beneath, pubescent on midrib and veins; short petioled; dark green, almost dark blue-green in summer changing to yellow, bronze, orange, or red combinations in fall; excellent fall coloring shrub |
| Plant Type | |
| Primary Features | |
| Size | 6-12 feet tall at maturity with an equal or greater spread |
| Sun Requirement |
