Vaccinium 'Sunshine Blue'

Popular for many years now, 'Sunshine Blue' has simply never been bettered as an ornamental edible. This Southern Highbush blueberry has a new look for every season, and the mass of sweet berries it produces is only the start of the story!

Spring begins with unusual pink blooms (most blueberry shrubs offer white) and glossy foliage on dense, rounded plants just 3 to 4 feet high and wide. Perfect for containers, it is well-branched and full. When summer arrives, so do the berries -- 5 to 10 pounds from a single mature plant! And fall brings beautiful foliage changes, as red and purple mark the bright green of these semi-evergreen leaves.

'Sunshine Blue' is self-pollinating (no second blueberry shrub is necessary) and very adaptable to a wide range of conditions, from the frigid winters of Chicago to the sweltering summers of Atlanta. It has a low chill requirement, making it a great choice for the south and west, but it is also very hardy in cold weather. Give it fresh potting soil each spring if growing in containers, keep it watered and fed, and it will reward you for many seasons to come! Zones 5-9.

Vaccinium
Blueberry

Planting:

Set Blueberries 4 feet apart, with 8 to 10 feet between rows; for use as a hedge, space plants 2 to 3 feet apart. Choose a location in full sun and with an acid, humus-enriched soil. To obtain an acid reaction, add ammonium sulfate or powered sulphur to the soil, along with a liberal amount of leaf mold. (Or check with your County Extension agent for specifics.) Dig a generous hole and plant so that the upper roots are covered with only an inch of soil. Planting too deep will hinder growth. At planting time, some light pruning may be desirable to shape and balance branch structure for Blueberries.

Maintenance:

We recommend a thick, organic mulch year round, to keep down weeds and maintain even moisture. Once plants are established, apply an acid fertilizer (such as one suited for azaleas) each year. After the initial pruning at planting time for Blueberries, no pruning will be necessary for a few years; after that, the older branches may be pruned back from year to year as necessary. If birds are a problem, netting will keep them from the berries.

Winter care of Potted Plants:

In zones 5, 6, and the colder parts of zones 7, potted plants must be either sunk into the ground or moved into a cold garage or basement that doesn’t freeze. Water pots well before moving them indoors and then check every 4 to 5 weeks to make sure the soil remains a bit damp. Zones various.

Zones:

Zones Various

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