No, it’s variety dependent and not type dependent for both questions. Also they can ask be grainy and inedible if not given enough nutrients or water throughout the growing/ripening process
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That’s awesome. My wife loves blueberries and I’m planning to plant a few next year. Do you net them to prevent birds theft, and any spraying needed?
No sprays needed, at least so far. I saw my first spotted lantern fly nymph, so not really sure what they’ll be on in the future.
You definitely need to net blueberries around here or they are just expensive bird feeders. This is what I put up this year and it is so satisfying to lift up the net and see all those berries the birds didn’t get to steal.
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Great job! I’m seeing at least 10 of the nymph every day on my plants- it’s really scary. They’re crazy hard to smash. Impossible on the plants, you have to squash them after they jump somewhere flat. And they jump fast. I’m amazed by how indiscriminate they are- I’ve found them on nearly all my vegetable garden plants, all fruit trees, native flowers, grasses…they’re little demons. The future is bleak. (And this is up from 0 last year)
I mostly grow rabbit eye varieties. In the past Oneal has done well for me although the frost reduces the crop. I’m in zone 8a Alabama. I purchased two more varieties that I’m going to test out and I will also graft a few scions onto a Tifblue.
I hold this over them so when they jump, they get zapped. I love this one because it’s strong as heck, rechargeable so you don’t have to spend 10$ on d batteries, and it has zap mode and push button to zap mode lol
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Oh excellent idea!! My husband has one.
@zendog is right about the need for protection. Blueberries need to turn fully blue… and then hang on the bush a few days (4-7) to reach peak flavor.
The birds will take them all as soon as they start turning blue.
I am in southern middle TN 7b… and have rabbiteye varieties… some for many years that are 7 ft tall and quite wide now.
Tifblue, Climax, Brightwell, Powderblue.
Over the last few years have heard several here mention that Yadkin is a very dlicious blueberry. When I add more… will include yadkin.
My ph runs 5.5 - 6 and the rabbiteyes are happy with that. I fertilize with Hollytone… which helps acidify some.
All of my blueberries taste better than what we can buy from our local walmart.
TNHunter
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Can’t get out and see for myself; but my wife says the birds have murdered our blueberries this week.
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My climax bushes are about done fruiting… my tifblue is just starting to ripen fruit.
I put it on lockdown yesterday.
No birds… not sharing any of those with you !!!
TNHunter
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There are so many good varieties of blueberries to choose from. These are Alapaha that I picked from a young bush this morning. The bird netting allowed me to let them stay on the bush long enough to get very sweet. The green ones will be frozen in a small bag to add into a blueberry cobbler. The other small bowl is just to show off a few that got really big.
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Which variety of blueberry is that in the 2 pictures? Those look really big.
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@Fishsauce … in the picture with the red illini blackberries in the background… those are climax. It ripens earlier…
In the pic with the sizing up concord grapes in the background… that would be tifblue. It ripens later.
TNHunter
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I live in 7a. Southern & Rabbiteye do a bit better in our hot muggy summers. Highbush appreciate some shade or shadecloth. They taste best IMO and are sweet when they look ripe unlike rabbiteye where the berries have to stay on the bush for weeks after looking ready. My favorite is Misty, a Southern Highbush. Good luck!
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If you have the chill hours for rabbitey, forget the southern highbush. Rabbiteyes are more vigorous and forgiving of stress, (I quote U of Tenn’s expert, David Lockwood). In my terms, they are hard to beat to death with a stick. I have a few Southern Highbush, and they hardly grow and never crop. The only one I would recommend is ‘Summit’, which is plainly VERY different from the rest of them. It’s a big vigrous plant, with great architecture, and it starts cropping for me (in middle TN) nearly a month before my rabbiteyes. I’ve contacted John Clark (retired breeder from U of Ark) twice to say you guys really should promote this great variety, and he just says the industry didn’t care for it. Well, if a backyarder has room for only 1 blueberry bush in the south, this is the one I’d choose. I think it’s self fertile, as a highbush should be, and it grows well, crops well, and looks terrific.
I also got their patented ‘Ozark Blue’, which have taken 10 years to crop. The berries are quite large, early, and good, but plant-wise it’s a typical highbush wimp.
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I lived in Pennsylvania for 20 years and fell in love with northern highbush berries. I can speak to your description of the two types of berries. Rabbit-eye berries, in my experience, are more “grainy” as you put it. Seeds feel different in the mouth, but the flavor is good. Highbush berries are not grainy. Size and sweetness varies with variety - even within highbush or rabbit-eye, as many here have pointed out. I have a number of the ones that have been mentioned, and they vary in size. Another big difference is in the berries when they are frozen. The rabbit-eyes that I have frozen ended up with rubbery skin - even if I didn’t wash them before freezing. Highbush berry skins don’t turn to rubber when frozen. I only planted northern and southern highbush varieties at first, with mixed results. The northern varieties sometimes struggle in the heat (I live between Chattanooga and Knoxville now) and probably won’t have as long a life, from what I have read. Some have done well, others have not, but also the location where I planted them was not the greatest soil. I finally planted 4 rabbit-eye varieties, and they have established and grown much faster than the northerns. Another difference, the berries were starting to bud out in the recent early warmth, then we had a hard freeze a couple weeks ago. The northerns were slightly affected (though they were more budded out than the rabbit-eye) but are still full of blooms. The rabbit eye, though the flower buds were still tiny, had whole sections that are totally destroyed and will not bear much this year. Just my evaluation. ONeil is doing well for me. Elizabeth is my favorite for flavor, but is not as hardy and the bushes are declining gradually. My rabbit-eye are not old enough for me to have a favorite yet.
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I grew Rabbiteye blueberries for about six years (Brightwell, Powderblue, Ochlokonee, Baldwin, Centurion and Tifblue). However, after trying Northern Highbush blueberries, I removed every single Rabbiteye and replaced them with Northern Highbushes (Spartan, Blueray, Bluecrop, Toro, Patriot, Darrow, and recently added Elizabeth and Honey Creek).
I used this chart from Oregon State to know the order of ripening:
Here in North GA, the date is accelerated by about one month (That is, they ripen approximately one month sooner than the chart).
One of the best sources of information for every type (Rabbiteyes, Southern Highbush, and Northern Highbush Blueberry Cultivars):
And, another good source but mainly for Rabbiteyes:
https://smallfruits.org/files/2019/06/06bbcvproc_Nov0206.pdf
Here’s my reasoning for removing every Rabbiteye.
1.) The mid and late season ripening Rabbiteyes still bloomed too early and the late frosts “burned” the blooms and therefore affected the overall fruit quality. Whereas, the Northern Highbush bloom later but ripen earlier.
2.) The best tasting Rabbiteye (in my opinion) was Powderblue, yet at best they were just good. Whereas, the N.H. specifically Spartan and Blueray taste amazing - (seriously, wow! - Very Delicious). And, Spartan and Blueray are much larger.
3.) The texture of the Rabbiteyes is gritty/seedy - Especially, Baldwin.
4.) Because they are much later ripening, the Rabbiteyes’ fruit are impacted by the very high later summer heat and every pest.
Lastly, for anyone looking for a great nursery that sells N.H, I highly recommend One Green World.
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I live in WNC just a few miles above the Georgia line, so probably a very similar climate to you. Have you had any trouble with disease in the summer with the N Highbush blueberries? How about tolerance to heat and drought? Both of these issues were concerns for me when deciding between Rabbiteye and Northern Highbush. I also prefer the less grainy texture of the Northern Highbush and would be glad to hear someone having a good exprerience in a similar climate.
Some cultivars do better than others, but the plants are doing very well here in raised beds.
They have mini pine bark mulch covering, and I water twice a week during the hotter summer time.
Bluecrop is the best grower but just average flavor. Blueray also does well and the flavor is excellent.
In comparison, Rabbiteyes are definitely tougher plants. But, the fruit quality of the Northern Highbushes and the later blooming time and the earlier fruit ripening time make the N.H.’s the winner (in my opinion).
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Watering is a bit of a challenge for me even with the Rabbiteye since my 25 bushes (Brightwell, Climax, Powderblue, and Premier) are all down the hill a ways from the house. Four hoses connected will reach, but something I only end up doing during extremely dry periods.
The NH later blooming is a definite plus! My Rabbiteyes are beginning to bloom now and there are still plenty of frosts here in the mountains between now and Mother’s Day. What part of N Georgia are you in? I am in Macon County, NC at about 2300 ft.
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