Growing Blueberrries – Types of Blueberries – Blueberry Varieties

If you are thinking about growing blueberries, the first thing you need to do is determine the type blueberries you want to plant. Here is a quick overview of the various varieties of blueberries. Make sure you pick the variety that fits your available space and climate zone.

1. Highbush blueberries are probably the most familiar variety because this is the most commonly sold in your grocery store’s product department. They derive their name from their growth pattern, as these bushes are quite tall, sometime reaching over six feet high. They are popular because of the larger fruits, sometimes over an inch. These are hardy from zone 4 to 11 (although check the individual variety as this will vary slightly.

2. Half-high blueberries are a cross between lowbush and highbush blueberries. They are not as tall as the high-bush blueberries,but their growth pattern is similar to them. The half-high varieties are particularly cold hardy, so they will grow as far north as Zone 3. The fruit size and taste are, as you would expect, between the highbush and lowbush varieties.

3. Lowbush blueberries have a much lower growing pattern, usually no more than about 1 1/2 feet high. These grow less like bushes, and in some ways are more like a groundcover. They spread through underground runners, and are not so much distinct bushes but more of a mass of plants. Fruit general grows on the second year’s growth. These berries are hardy in Zones 3 through 6, very much a northern crop.

4. Rabbiteye blueberries , are much more suited to the southern climates, and are native to the Southeast. The name is deceiving since they grow taller than even the highbush blueberries, certainly higher than a rabbit’s eye growing as high as 10-feet. These bushes hold up will in zones 7 through 9.

Next we will take a look at actually growing blueberries

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