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  • From: Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Blueberry varieties
  • Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:02:53 -0400

I was hoping people with more experience would reply, but few have, so I'll take a shot:
 
On Apr 8, 2010, at 2:37 PM, Caren Kirk wrote:

I am planning a blueberry patch, which I also would like to have an ornamental aspect so I am planning the following:

Blueberries can be a little thin and shaggy for ornamental plants.  You just don't get that massed bushy effect you get from most shrubs sold as ornamentals.  I like them anyway, and they _are_ stunning in the fall when their leaves turn flaming colors, but you should know what you are getting.

 
Back row: Bluecrop, small rhodo, Northland
Mid row: Northcountry, Northblue
Front row: Dwarf Augusta, Top Hat and Wild Blueberry (V. Angustifolium)
 
Does anyone have any thoughts on these varieties as I have no experience with them?  Will I be all right for polination (will Northland or the others pollinate Bluecrop?). What kind of spacing typically works well?

I've grown one of Northcountry and Northblue, but don't recall which.  It's okay, although not my favorite.  I think my favorite is St Lawrence, which seems to produce a lot of tasty fruit for me.  I also have wild blueberries.  They don't fruit _nearly_ as much as the selected/bred varieties.  Okay for an ornamental, I guess, but not ideal for fruit.  Blueberries also fruit a LOT more in full sun than in shade.  They'll live happily for years in the shade, but you won't get much fruit.

Unlike Alan, I prefer smaller blueberries.  I like to be able to put them in a pancake and have them fit, and I like the flavor of the skins.  Some of the small-fruited domestic varieties have a lot of fruit, and I find it easy to pick a whole stem of blueberries (so a few large ones, or lots of small ones) by grabbing the stem and gently wiggling the berries off.  Sort of using my fingers are a rake, I guess.

But I've never seen Tophat advertised except as an ornamental, and I don't think it produces as much fruit (in volume or weight) as the better cultivars that were selected for fruit, so I agree with Alan's advice there.  The photos of it sure look pretty, though, so if you are looking for edible ornamentals rather than ornamental edibles, it may be good for you.

As for pollination:  I have northern highbush, half-high, and lowbush blueberries in my yard.  They all bloom at the same time, and the existence of hybrids suggests they are cross fertile.  I only have one mature pure highbush (Rubel) and it seems to be pollinated just fine.  So I think you'll be okay with that.


Ginda Fisher
Eastern MA, zone 6







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