Ok…sounds like a good method for picking ripe berries.
I should get a taste of Indicrisp this year, if Legacy which has SHB in it can pollinate Indigocrisp?. Southmoon and sweetcrisp have no viable flowers. Heck Southmoon may have died, it did not like the late spring freeze. It’s still alive but failing to leaf out.If it does I’ll replace with a Northern cultivar.
I guess why this hobby is called gardening, and not harvesting!
If Indigocrisp does set fruit I’m keeping some seed, as a Legacy-Indicrisp hybrid would be a better plant for my area.
Legacy had growing buds during the freeze, down to 21F as a low for a few days, the buds did not die! Heck Southmoon may die from this, and Legacy is flowering? Wow! What a difference! This looks like a great cultivar for late spring freeze areas! It’s about to flower, and it is loaded! I lost a lot of fruit from the late freeze, but man this discovery makes it worth it.
Legacy seems to act more like a rabbiteye than SHB in many ways. Vigorous plant like RE, tolerates lower organic matter levels and higher PH like RE. Also blooms and crops late like a RE.
I picked 10 Sweetcrisp, 5 Indigocrisp, and the last of my Springhigh today. Took them into the kitchen and washed them off and me and the kids began eating them. They all tasted superb. Then we went to the fridge and grabbed the blueberries we bought from the grocery store and tried them. They tasted like nothing. We could not find any discernable taste in them. We had been eating grocery store blueberries for years and always thought they tasted good but after the Sweetcrisp their taste is definitely diminished.
I think blueberries taste best when they’re picked “hot” and fresh right off the bush under a bright sun!
I’ve grazed on a few Indigocrisp over the last couple of weeks. These are from new plants, well I guess that’s all anybody has. The IC fruit aren’t as crunchy nor as sweet as SC off older plants. They are definitely crunchier than Springhigh. But it’s too early to make a fair comparison. Compared to most 1st yr blueberries I’ve had in recent yrs IC has promise.
All blueberries vary a lot from berry to berry. Some of the SC picked too early are actually tart but more sweet/tart and actually quit tasty. Other SC are incredibly sweet and crunchy. Some of the best SC I’ve ever had. I’d say they are 20 brix or more. Normal blueberries are 12 to 14 at best. But brix is very hard to measure because it’s so hard to collect any juice.
Has anyone confirmed the validity of FHN Sweetcrisp or Springhigh?
It’s hard to say at this point. The miss identified plants were several yrs ago. Who knows what they’re selling now. All I’d say is your chances there are probably below a top level nursery.
I just measured the brix on what blueberry varieties I have left. All are well ripened, ie at least two weeks past turning color. I don’t think they’ll gain any more brix but possibly drop some acid.
To measure I mashed 8 berries in a dish and strained the mash thru Agrigon 19 fabric. It was a lot easier getting juice than I thought. So I have good confidence that the numbers are close to correct.
Results surprised me. I knew Sweetcrisp was very sweet this yr but not this high!! Star was higher than I expected.
Sweetcrisp 24
Star 16.8
Indigocrisp 15.6
With less water on a more mature plant I’m sure Indigocrisp will improve. I never ever expected to measure a 24 brix on a blueberry. These were in pots and watered every day. Not starved for water.
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I am planning on adding Sweetcrisp this fall (found a grower / nursery nearby in SE Texas that sells it), and just wanted to ask how big does it get and is it a fast grower as I am trying decide how many to plant.
Sweetcrisp is a vigorous and rapid grower. But it is notoriously difficult to train and control. It just wants to grow long shoots with no branching. Most people try to tame it by frequent tipping. But you might try to find information from Univ of Florida where it was bred.
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Yes I have pruned it hard now two years in a row, it is very different from most blueberries.
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Can’t speak to Sweetcrisp, but it seems like you could just heat up the blueberries in the microwave for a little bit to draw out some juice. Most blueberries give up their juicy-goodness like crazy when baked in muffins --which I’m making every weekend these days. 
Had a hard time getting juice from Misty, but Jewel seems to give a drop of juice when squeezed. I have tried getting the brix of two different berries of ‘Jewel’ and the brix was 14 and the second was a tad over 16. Still letting the unknown berry, from FHN, that was supposed to be ‘Sweetcrisp’ ripen.
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That’s one nice thing about Sweetcrisp, it’s a little latter than many SHB. And it hangs on the bush a long time. Even the dehydrated and shriveled up berries are crunchy.
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Been sampling Springhigh all week, man are these berries huge! I’m Going to let the rest ripen up nicely before a true judgment but so far it checks all the boxes.
- Big Berries
- Vigorous Grower
- Firm Texture
- NYC Winter Hardy
- Flavor (jury out)
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For years, I’ve been trying to clone my late grandfather’s northern highbush blueberries (pair of unknown varieties). He planted the bushes back in the 1970s. They are at least 7 feet high (after pruning). One bush is sweet; the other is sour.
Past attempts have failed: the cuttings placed in a mix of peat & perlite inside a plastic bin would eventually mold over.
I spoke to a woman at a local farmers market. She says she has successfully rooted bloobs by taking cuttings; peeling back a leaf (or scraping down to cambium with a knife); cutting it back to a few buds; and sticking the piece down into an open bin of SAND. She says sand is the key.
Presently, I am trying to replicate her success. The only difference: I am using hardwood cuttings taken this past late winter/early spring instead of the softwood cuttings she takes in May/June. My cuttings were taken sometime around March. Last week, I scraped them with a knife, and set them in the sand. This time, it looks like they have a fighting chance.
Here is “Orville Sweet:”
Here is “Orville Sour:”
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That sounds like an easy method. Let us know how it works out. Are these in open containers? Will they be water misted during rooting stage? Thanks, Bill
Out in the open under heavy shade.
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