Plant, Tree & Shrub Library

Group/Class:  Half-High Blueberry

Description:

A very hardy hybrid blueberry with an upright spreading habit, produces excellent crops of tangy sweet light blue fruit in early summer; all blueberries require highly acidic soils, excellent drainage and a good mulch, plant with plenty of peat moss

Edible Qualities

Polaris Blueberry is a small shrub that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces clusters of blue round berries with purple overtones which are usually ready for picking in mid summer. The berries have a sweet taste and a juicy texture.

The berries are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Cooking
• Baking
• Preserves

Features & Attributes

Polaris Blueberry features dainty clusters of white bell-shaped flowers with shell pink overtones hanging below the branches in mid spring. It has green deciduous foliage. The glossy oval leaves turn an outstanding orange in the fall. It features an abundance of magnificent blue berries with purple overtones in mid summer.

This is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage. This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Polaris Blueberry is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Polaris Blueberry will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. This variety requires a different selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit.

This shrub is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated edibles garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have sandy, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.