Lowbush blueberry

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; full sun gives the best crops and autumn colour.

Water

Keep the shallow root zone evenly moist, especially during establishment and fruit development; avoid waterlogged soil.

Soil

Strongly acidic, humus-rich, well-drained soil, ideally pH 4.0-5.2. Use an ericaceous raised bed or container where garden soil is alkaline.

Height

0.5-2 ft (0.15-0.6 m)

Spread

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m), eventually forming wider colonies

Flowers

Mid- to late spring; small, hanging, bell-shaped flowers, white to pale pink.

Foliage

Small, narrow, finely toothed green leaves turn red, orange or burgundy in autumn.

Growth

Slow to moderate; spreads gradually once established.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.2 ft (0.38 m)

   full size

About 7 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

the US and Canada

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant two or more genetically distinct plants close together for better pollination; divisions from one plant are the same clone.
• Water during dry spells, preferably with collected rainwater where tap water is alkaline.
• Mulch with 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of pine bark or well-rotted sawdust, keeping it clear of stem bases.
• Test soil pH before planting and periodically afterward; do not add lime.
• If growth is weak, apply a light dose of fertiliser labelled for blueberries or acid-loving plants in spring; avoid heavy feeding.
• Weed by hand without deep cultivation, which damages shallow roots and rhizomes.

Pruning. In late winter, remove dead or damaged stems and thin out some of the oldest stems at ground level. To renew an established patch, cut one section to the ground while leaving the rest to fruit; the cut section will not crop that summer.

Pick berries in summer when they are fully blue, sweet and release easily with a gentle roll of the fingers; newly blue fruit may need a few more days. Harvest repeatedly as berries ripen unevenly. Established nursery plants usually give a first worthwhile crop about 2-3 years after planting, while small plugs may take longer.

Late winter

Prune dead wood and renew a small section of an older patch if needed.

Spring

Plant while conditions are cool, check soil acidity and refresh the mulch.

Mid-spring

Apply a light blueberry feed only if needed; keep insecticides away from open flowers.

Early summer

Water during dry weather and fit bird netting over a frame before berries colour.

Summer

Pick ripe berries regularly and remove shrivelled or diseased fruit.

Autumn

Plant in mild regions, remove fallen diseased berries and mark any spreading shoots that need containing.

• Use as a low edible groundcover along sunny woodland edges with acidic soil.
• Plant in broad patches beneath widely spaced pines, where enough light reaches the ground for fruiting.
• Edge an acid-soil fruit garden with blueberries for berries at picking height and autumn colour.
• Combine with heathers and dwarf rhododendrons in an acidic border, leaving room for gradual spread.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Wildlife garden, Edible landscape, New England, Autumn colour and Homestead.

Plant it with: Lingonberry, Wintergreen, Heather, Dwarf rhododendron and Sheep laurel.

Wildlife: Spring flowers feed bumblebees and other native bees. Birds and small mammals eat the berries, and the low thickets provide cover; deer and rabbits may browse the shoots.

• Yellow leaves with green veins usually indicate soil that is too alkaline: test the pH, avoid alkaline irrigation water and move plants into an ericaceous bed if necessary.
• Birds can strip ripening fruit: use taut, wildlife-safe netting secured over a frame and check it daily.
• Mummy berry disease causes blighted shoots and shrivelled berries: collect affected fruit and fallen berry mummies, then refresh mulch before spring growth.
• Root rot and dieback develop in saturated soil: improve drainage or replant in a raised bed rather than watering more.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. The ripe berries are edible; leaves and stems are not normally eaten.

• Velvetleaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides)

  Its leaves are noticeably hairy and usually have smooth margins; lowbush blueberry usually has less hairy leaves with fine teeth.

• Northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)

  Usually develops into a much taller, upright shrub with larger leaves rather than a low, spreading patch.

• Black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata)

  Leaf undersides carry yellowish resin dots, and its usually black berries contain ten hard seed-like nutlets rather than the blueberry's many small seeds.

The species name angustifolium means narrow-leaved, while lowbush describes its short stature compared with highbush blueberries.

Propagation. Lift rooted sections from the edge of an established patch in early spring, with the owner's permission, or take softwood cuttings in early summer. Seed-grown plants vary and take longer to crop; use unrelated plants rather than divisions of one clone for better cross-pollination.

Accepted botanical name

Vaccinium angustifolium

In the US and Canada

Native in Canada, the lower 48 states and St. Pierre and Miquelon.

Native range

Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Masachusettes, Michigan and Minnesota.

Measured

Soil pH 4.7 to 7.5. Average height 29 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.