Vaccinium corymbosum - Highbush Blueberry

Sizes available: #1 (Trade gallon)

Basics: Zones 3-8, 6-12' x 6-10' (up to 15 feet), full to parts sun, can grow in more shade but will berry less, little white urn-shaped flowers in late spring lead to blue berries in summer, prefers consistently moist but well-drained soils with a pH of 5.0, however, also found in uplands with drier conditions, so is adaptable.

Common names: Highbush Blueberry, Rabbit-eye Blueberry, Smooth Highbush Blueberry

Family: Ericaceae

Origin/Distribution: Nova Scotia west to southern Wisconsin and south into Georgia and Alabama. Native to Maine.

Habitat: wet, open woodland, bog edge, fen, shores of lakes and rivers, swamp margin, but also on dry barrens and drier forested areas at higher elevations. Associated with oaks.

More: Likes moisture, but not standing water. The bushes are self-fertile, but why only grow one blueberry? The berries are beloved by large mammals: bears and humans, and small mammals: squirrels and mice, as well as numerous bird species. Larval host to well over 250 caterpillars and supports many wild bees (more information coming soon). Grow with other acid lovers such as Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Hollies. Lovely fall color in shades of red, orange, yellow. Remove dead wood anytime. Prune in late winter to maintain preferred shape, Deer will browse. 

Source: New England Wetland Plants, grown from seed collected around western Massachusetts. 

Image credits: Image of berries ripening courtesy of Rob Thurman via Creative Commons through the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Illustration by Mary Vaux Walcott, via Wikimedia Commons, a little out-of-focus, but I really like sharing botanical illustrations that are in the public domain.