Blueberry

Vaccinium DownHome Harvest Hello Darlin

Hello Darlin Blueberry is a compact upright deciduous shrub with heavy production of firm, medium-sized blueberries that ripen early.  The elliptical vivd green foliage turns dark red in fall. The white flower clusters bloom in late spring.  Grows best with full sun and rich, moist acidic well-drained soils.  Hello Darlin has a 450 chill hour requirement and should be planted with others to cross-pollinate to increase yield. 

Vaccinium corymbosum are highly valuable for wildlife as well, being listed as a host plant for 32 different butterflies and moths, and provides nectar to several specialized bees.  The berries and branches are good food sources for birds and mammals. 

MAINTENANCE NEEDS:  Medium Maintenance. Water regularly and mulch.  Prune as needed in late winter. Chlorosis may occur in high PH soils.  Blight, rot, anthracnose, canker, and mildew are occasional problems. Blueberry maggot, fruit worms, and spotted wing drosophila can damage the fruit.  Mummy berry is a fungal disease that shrivels and dries the fruit- remove effected fruit immediately if spotted.
LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Naturalized Areas, Woodland Gardens, Rock Gardens, Hedges, Foundation Plantings, Edible Gardens, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS: Thyme, Strawberry, Raspberry

IMAGES: Gordana Adamovic-Mladenovic from Windsor, Canada, From the bush to your mouth in under 5 seconds!, CC BY 2.0, (2) Zbigniew Niepokój, Borówka amerykańska. 03, CC BY-SA 4.0, (3) Hedwig Storch, Kulturheidelbeere 2008-10-2, CC BY-SA 3.0

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.