Skip to main content
Problems with signing in?

We use your email to save the items in your cart, and occasionally send notifications about your cart contents. We will never sell your email address.

Duke main item image
Duke main full-size item image Duke full-size item image #2

Duke Highbush Blueberry

plants
Check for new listings in early August
Notify me when back in stock
This item is currently unavailable.
Would you like us to e-mail you when it's back in stock?
Vaccinium corymbosum

Early. 4-6'. G-100 (Ivanhoe × Earliblue) × 192-8 (E-30 × E-11) USDA, NJ, 1987.

Medium-large light blue firm fruit with excellent sweet flavor. Even after temps of –30° the winter of 2019, the branches were still loaded with fruit that summer. One of grower Seth Yentes’s favorites in his U-pick. Flavor holds up better than other varieties in the freezer.

Long stems and loose clusters. Vigorous upright high-yielding bush. Z4.

(gallon pot, 15–20")
ships in spring
Quick Details
Color
light blue
Hardy to Zone
4
Compare
Compare with other Highbush Blueberries
Variety Product Type Color Hardy to Zone
Aurora plants powder blue 5
Bluejay plants light blue 4
Blueray plants dark blue 4
Bonus plants bright blue 4
Cara’s Choice plants powder blue 5
Chandler plants dark blue 5
Chanticleer plants medium blue 5
Duke plants light blue 4
Elizabeth plants blue 4
Jersey plants dark blue 4
Legacy plants light blue 5
Little Giant plants dark blue 4
Patriot plants blue 3
Talisman plants blue 4
Additional Information

Highbush Blueberries Vaccinium corymbosum

Many of Maine’s lakes are lined with massive stands of highbush blueberries, native to North America. Grazing the shore requires only time and a suitable vessel; we prefer kayak or canoe. The beautiful vigorous shrubs are extremely easy to grow at home, productive and reliable. By planting several varieties, you can harvest berries from early July through most of August. First crops come 3–5 years after planting. Productive for at least 20 or 30 years. Berries may turn blue before they reach their peak flavor. Leave them on the bush until they are fully ripe. Check a few before you pick them all!

Growing Highbush Blueberries

  • Soil: Light acid soil with plenty of organic matter. Keep them watered.
  • Sun: Full.
  • Pollination: Two varieties required, three or more recommended.
  • Spacing: Plant 6' apart (or closer for smaller lowbush-highbush types) in rows 8–10' apart.
  • Planting: Mulch yearly with at least 3–6" pine needles, wood chips, hay, cardboard, even old slab wood. They don’t like grass competition.
  • Pruning: Fruit is produced on one-year shoots off healthy canes. Older canes become twiggy and less productive. After three years, head back long sprigs of new growth for a bushier plant. Each bush should be allowed to grow 6–10 canes varying in age from 1–6 years old. Thereafter, remove dead canes and those over 6 years old to encourage new replacement canes. Bushes with regular moderate pruning produce the most berries.

Shipping

Items from our perennial plants warehouse ordered on or before February 20 will ship from March through early May, starting with warmer areas and finishing in colder areas.

Orders placed after February 20 will ship from April to May.