Vaccinium corymbosum /wakˈkiːniũː/
Common name: Highbush blueberry · Northern highbush blueberry · Blue huckleberry
Vaccinium corymbosum is a deciduous shrub in the heath family (Ericaceae), native to eastern North America. It typically grows 1.8–3.7 m tall, with urn-shaped white to pinkish spring flowers followed by sweet blue-black berries. It is the most widely cultivated blueberry species in the world and the parent of most commercial blueberry cultivars.
Care summary
Sun
Full sun; tolerates light shade
Water
Consistently moist; shallow roots dislike drought
Soil
Strongly acidic (pH 4.5–5.5), organic, well-drained
Hardiness
Zones 4–7
Mature height
About 180–370 cm (6–12 ft)
Pet safe
Yes; berries are edible for dogs and cats
Difficulty
Fussy
Propagation
Most reliable from softwood cuttings taken in late spring to early summer. Take 10 cm tip cuttings, strip the lower leaves, dip in rooting hormone, and root them in moist acidic sand or peat under high humidity; rooted cuttings are potted up the following spring.
Fun facts
- Most commercial blueberries worldwide descend from cultivars bred by Elizabeth White and botanist Frederick Coville in New Jersey in the early 1900s.
- The berries' waxy coating, called bloom, gives them their dusty blue appearance.
- Blueberries are among the few naturally blue foods and were an important food of Indigenous peoples of eastern North America.
- In autumn the foliage turns brilliant shades of red, orange, and purple, making the shrub ornamental as well as edible.