Herb. No. 211 · Ericaceae
Eastern North American wetlands and woods; now a farmed acid-soil crop worldwide.
Native · North America
Native Also grown
LegalGentleplant
Blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum
Fruit & vegetableHarvestCompanionsLookalikes
An eastern acid-soil berry with a bloom on the skin — a pie fruit that will not grow in lime.
Highbush blueberry is an eastern North American heath. Traditional Indigenous use is as fresh and dried fruit. Culinary amounts are the path. It wants acid soil the way a rhododendron does. Rabbiteye types take more heat. A limey garden will yellow and sulk. The pale bloom on the skin is wax, not pesticide, until you wash it.
Flavor
Sweet-tart, a little floral. Wild lowbush is denser and louder.
Parts used
Ripe fruit
Helpful
- A long-lived bush in the right soil
- Freezes honestly
Cautions
- Must have acid soil
- Birds
- A lime garden is a waste of a bush