Northern Highbush Varieties

Northern Highbush blueberries are the most widely grown, bred especially for enhanced fruit size and high yields of fruit with varieties ripening in succession to crop over 2 to 3 months of the year. There are over 100 named varieties of northern highbush blueberries, but we have selected the best varieties for the UK and northern Europe, based on taste, shelf life and ease of management.
Although these blueberries are mainly grown for their fruit, they are also highly ornamental, displaying scented flowers in spring, powdery blue fruit in summer and vibrant red to gold autumn colours and coloured stems all winter.
Northern Highbush blueberries are hardy and require a minimum of 750 hours accumulated chilling time below 8 degrees centigrade in order to produce consistent yields of high quality berries.
Some varieties are prone to flower damage in frost pockets where temperatures sometimes drop below -2 degrees centigrade during bloom. Look for the image for later flowering varieties which are safer in frost pockets.

This is a comprehensive list and does not necessarily mean that all these varieties are available from us. Please contact us if you dont see the variety you require in our webshop

IN ORDER OF RIPENING:

Bluetta
Bush: Moderately vigorous, compact, somewhat spreading, consistently productive; more frost and winter hardy than Earliblue.
Fruit: Loose. Berry: Medium, light blue, firm, medium-broad scar; flavor fair to good.

Duke
Bush: Sturdy, moderately branched variety, upright with numerous canes. Flowers late but fruits early.
Fruit: firm, medium to large light blue with a fairly mild flavour with good keeping qualities. Yellow - orange autumn colour.

Spartan
Bush: Upright, 5-6ft at maturity. Fussy about soil type, requiring particularly well drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Very hardy. Orange and yellow autumn colour
Fruit: Very large, tangy rich flavour.

Patriot
Bush: Fairly vigorous, moderately erect, open, very productive. Fruit cluster: Tight. Berry: Very large, slightly flat, medium blue, firm, small scar; flavour excellent. Concentrates ripening to two main pickings. Berries show a "red back" when immature, and fruit can be soft in very hot weather. Plants are tolerant of heavier, wetter soils, cold weather, and frost.

Toro
Bush: Extremely stocky and compact and relatively slow growing. Particularly attractive flowers (bright pink shading to white) and bronze young growth. Brilliant red autumn colour.
Fruit: Very large, full flavoured hanging in long clusters

Hardyblue
Bush: Upright and vigorous and very productive. More adaptable than most to heavier soils. Brilliant yellow - orange autumn colour, red stems all winter.
Fruit: medium sized, with superb, sweet flavour

Bluecrop
Bush: Vigorous, erect, open, very productive. Fruit cluster: Loose. Berry: Large, light blue, firm, resistant to cracking, small scar; flavor very good, slightly aromatic. Fruit can be tart or show "red back" (only half of fruit blue) if picked too early. Plant is easy to grow. The main variety grown worldwide.

Bluegold
Late season. Bush: Vigorous, but low-growing, extremely productive. Berry: Medium, light blue, firm, small scar; flavor good. Bluegold is closely related to Northland, but has a more upright growth habit and fruit has a longer shelf life. Likely to be well suited for fresh market.

Legacy
Bush: Vigorous, upright growth, slightly spreading. Particularly suitable for warmer areas where it produces very heavy yields of medium to large fruit of superior flavour. One of the best flavoured varieties in USDA trials. Bright orange autumn colour, but may retain its green leaves in warmer climates.

Nelson
Mid- to late season. Bush: Vigorous, upright, productive, cold hardy. Berry: Very large, light blue, firm, medium scar; flavor good.

Chandler
The world's largest blueberry!
Bush: Vigorous, upright and well branched. Consistently produces high yields in areas where winters are long, but temperatures are not extreme.
Fruit: Large berries, light blue with good flavour produced over 6 weeks or more from mid to late season.

Brigitta
Bush: Upright and vigorous and easy to grow in all areas. Deep green foliage and bronze young growth.
Fruit: Large, firm, light blue berries with incredible storage ability. Sweet, but slightly tart flavour.

Half High Blueberries

Half high cultivars are hybrids between the Northern Highbush blueberry and their wild North American lowbush cousins. Exceptionally cold hardy, these bushes are very compact, growing to no more than 1 metre at maturity. Half highs are noted for their wild blueberry flavour and intense autumn colour, making them ideal plants for the ornamental fruiting garden.

NorthCountry
up to 40cm high and 1 metre wide. Dark green foliage and compact, dense growth. Attractive bright white flowers are prolific in spring.
Small fruit of around 0.8g per berry with very similar flavour to wild American blueberries.

Northsky
The most cold hardy of all blueberries, but equally successful in warmer climates. Grows to a low, compact mound 30-45cm high and 60-90cm wide. Foliage is dense and glossy green in summer and brilliant red in autumn. Completely covered in snowy white, self fertile flowers in spring, followed by small sky blue berries with a distinctive wild blueberry flavour.

NorthBlue
60-90cm tall with a slightly open habit. Produces large fruit yielding up to 3kg per bush. Ideal for those wanting an extra cold hardy, low growing variety with good fruit. The fruit also has good keeping qualities and wild blueberry flavour.

Southern Highbush Blueberries

Complex hybrids, bred for heat tolerance but those selected are excellent ornamental fruiting varieties for the warmer areas of the UK.
These hybrids are very different from other blueberries, having semi-evergreen foliage with an attractive blue / grey tinge in summer.

Misty
Bright blue/green foliage with hot pink spring flowers