I’ve had Tifblue for about 35 years. IMO, flavor is unremarkable and sweetness is at the low end. Brightwell is one of the better flavored rabbiteye varieties but it is not late bearing. All else considered, I think Powder Blue would be worth a try.
I’m here in Vancouver as well for late I like Elliot for flavor. Aurora is ok and is my last one to ripen with Elliot just ahead of it. Then chandler which is another ok flavor wise.
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Blueberry - thanks for the tips of looking for some newer varieties! good idea! Might be fun. I obviously have lots of berries every year so could just have a little fun and try something new!
Fusion - Thank for the Triflue info. I am considering Ochlockonee… and powderblue would pollanize it.
Fullplate - Hello Neighbor! Aurora just didn’t work for me. there seemed to be such a short period of time between ripe enough to be kinda sweet… and over ripe. The aurora plants got moved to the “bird feeding” blueberries in the front yard. Elliott seems to be my best option if I don’t want to try a couple of rabbiteyes or some newly released variety. I do have room for 4 plants so might get elliott and ??
I have chandler. My grandkids call them “eyeball” berries because they get so big. I have a cute pic of two of my grandkids and a friend holding up chandler berries in front of their eyes…lol… if I figure out how to load up pic to this site someday, I might post it.
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Since I am also shopping for blueberries (admittedly in a different climate) this thread has been helpful to me. I guess if I replace my cherry bush with blueberries, it will be reka and elliott.
Glenda… what is a cherry bush?
I have a Carmine Jewel dwarf cherry tree.
https://research-groups.usask.ca/fruit/Fruit%20crops/sour-cherries.php
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I have about a half dozen Rabbiteyes and most are bland tasting.Columbus is a little better,with Yadkin,the sweetest,but lost that plant,when the watering system failed.Might get one again.Been wanting to try Brightwell,just need to find a roundtoit.
Most of them might be late ripening,here in the PNW.
Another interesting one that probably has Vaccinium ashei in it,is Trentberry from Edible Landscaping,kind of tangy sweet.
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Brady… I am not familiar with rabbiteyes…bland doesn’t sound too good to me. Even automatic water systems can be problematic!! valves that malfunction, connections that burst. etc etc. Sorry to hear you lost that plant. I lost a blueberry plant some years ago by drowning the poor thing! I have BAD clay so I have to be very careful of over watering. Just curious … why so many rabbiteyes if they tend to be bland? extending the season?
Glenda… did not even know there was such a thing as cherry bush! I have 3 full size sweet cherry trees that I planted 30 yrs ago… they just feed the birds. I didn’t realize how big they got and that unless you put netting up or something, there is no chance for any fruit. I just can’t reach 25-30 ft!! Sounds like the bush type are pie cherries. I did see that they now have dwarf rootstock for sweet cherries. Might think about making firewood out of my current trees and replacing with something a little more manageable.
Blueberries… I think I am settling in on two late ones… Elliott and a newer one (Ithink) noctourne. Noctourne is supposed to be a little later than Elliott. I have seen and heard lots of good things about Elliott over the years. Burnt Ridge nursery has both so does one green world but I prefer brunt ridge over one green world (long story). …and… it is a pleasant drive to burnt ridge to pick up the plants.
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Maybe because,before Southern Highbush were developed,they were about the only kind of Blueberry that thrived in the southeastern US.
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Brady… Good reason! 
I always feel like commercial blueberries get better as the source moves north out of Florida into NJ, etc. I suspect this is why.
I always like the little wild ones from Maine during their short season, too.
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I have Rubel. It supposedly was found growing wild in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. For cooking, it is the best one I have. It is sold for zones 4-7 but I am 8b and it does pretty good for me.
I’ve thought it might be fun to try and grown the real Maine will blueberry. Hartmann’s does sell them. My zone might be too warm for them. Had some on a vacation in Maine a few years back. I agree, they are good!
Nocturne the new one I am pretty sure I am going to buy this Spring was developed in NJ by the same fellow that developed Hannah’s choice. …and I love hannahs choice.
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Hello Nora… Nice to meet a fellow PNW gardener.
My favorite for fresh eating is Hannah’s Choice. Very early. med to large fruit. Are not as productive as some other varieties but have a few bushes because I LOVE their flavor. Next favorite is reka… early good flavor. good yield that I can pick over 4 weeks or so.
For cooking, I like Rubel best. Small rather late berry. Rubel was found wild in NJ many years ago. They are good fresh but really give a blueberry flavor when cooked in pancakes, muffins etc.
Next… bluegold. bluecrop… Oneal is pretty good. Berkley is my latest bush and gives good but not outstanding berries but tasty enough. .
I find duke, draper rather bland and neither produce very well for me. earliblue - are not very early and not very sweet. I’ve had a lot of trouble with mummy berry on my two earliblue bushes. aurora - late…- it was removed from my blueberry house and planted for the birds in the front yard because it has to stay on the bush quite awhile after it looks ripe to get any sweetness…and then in just a few days it is over ripe. Poor yield also for me.
I have a couple of bushes that I have lost their names they are all good but I don’t like any of them as much as Hannah’s choice and Reka.
It is hard to give advice on flavor as it is such an individual thing. I like sweet and not mild/bland.
I have lots of berries but I want to extend my season so I am going to add Elliott and nocturne. As I was looking into nocturne, I realized it was bred by the same gent as Hannah’s Choice. …so… hoping the flavor is good.
I will be getting my new plants from burnt ridge nursery. You probably have some good nurseries down your way. Hannahs choice was difficult to get. I ended up ordering from Hartmann’s back east but got VERY nice plants…and was less expensive, including shipping, than lesser quality blueberry plants that I have gotten locally.
Hope this helps.
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What a wealth of information! Thanks.
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thank you. I don’t have hannah’s choice, that’s going on the wishlist. reka is my favorite of the varieties I have. my one reka bush has been flowering intermittently the last few weeks which doesn’t bode well for next year’s production, I think I stressed it out somehow
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That is funny… Reka is fav for both of us! It is the fav of my daughter, after Hannah’s choice, also. My daughter is considering replacing her sunshine blue with a Reka. She gets a good percentage of mine but wants more!!
Interesting that you should mention the flowering… I noticed a couple of flowers on one of my bushes in the blueberry house… Oneal, I think and a couple of flowers on the landscaping blueberry plants I have in the front yard in the past week or so. very unusual! It isn’t like we have had a warm spell or anything.
I am confused/surprised by the flowers also.
This is the first winter I have been fully retired so maybe this happens every year and I never noticed it.
I am hoping a few flowers here and there won’t matter for next years crop.
Interesting
mary.
Nora… something that might be of interest to you is that every year OSU has a blueberry research day… and also a raspberry research day. These seminars are held at:
North Willamette Research and Extension Center
15210 NE Miley Rd
Aurora, OR 97002
It free and really interesting. I managed to make the blueberry one a couple of years ago and the raspberry one the year before that. A lot of the info is aimed at commercial growers and flew right over my head…but… I was able to get bits of info I understood and could use. Good handouts. Also, tasting evals for developing varieties that was quite interesting. Each time the seminar took about 2- 3 hrs total.
With covid going on, who knows if they will have it in 2021. It was outside under a canopy and there was some walking through the field. Maybe 40 - 60 people
Mary
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