Blueberries are expected to rapidly become the most sought-after small fruit on the American market. Fifty percent of blueberries are grown for the fresh fruit market and Canada grows 25% of the world demand for blueberries. Growing blueberry plants is easy, but the culture differs considerably from growing other fruits and berries.

If a blueberry gardener understands the origin of wild blueberry plant occurrence, it is easy to predict the soil requirements necessary to successfully grow blueberries. The blueberry plants are found in the wild, growing on very poor, sandy soil with roots that surround the underground layers of decayed organic matter. The acidity or pH level is very low for wild blueberry plants and the bushes prosper in this acid environment. Fertilizer kills more blueberry plants than any other single thing. Blueberry commercial production is highest in Michigan, followed by Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, and Georgia. It is truly amazing that the blueberry can be grown in the South into Florida and then northwards to Arctic North America. Most blueberries are cross pollinated by insects such as bees and bumblebees. Most gardeners plant at least two different cultivars of blueberry plants for the additional advantages of extending the ripening season. Gardeners love planting a berry with no thorns to prick fingers at picking time, the occurrence of tiny seeds that aid in digestion, and the enjoyment of seeing the kaleidoscope of rainbow colors during the winter after the first freeze. Blueberry plants are among the most cold tolerant of all the small fruits, and in the South, the plants often only lose the leaves for a month, often blooming as early as January. Even if the flowers of blueberries freeze, a second wave of flowering will follow during later warm-ups in the weather.

Basically three types of blueberry are grown commercially in the United States; the Northern Highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L.; the Southern Rabbiteye blueberry, Vaccinium ashei; and the Lowbush blueberry, also called the Wild Lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium.

The Northern Highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L., is grown in zones 4 to 7. Much of the early production appearing at blueberry markets came from native blueberry plants, but new cultivars of Northern Highbush blueberry plants are very promising, such as: Bluejay blueberry, Bluecrop blueberry, Blueray blueberry, Jersey blueberry, and Patriot blueberry.

USDA blueberry releases for Southern Rabbiteye blueberry, Vaccinium ashei, have been numerous. These include the older cultivars: Southland, Woodard, Bluebelle, Blue Gem, and more recent blueberry releases are Tiftblue, Climax, Delite, Brightblue, Brightwell, Bonita, Powderblue, and Austin blueberry.

The Lowbush or Wild Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium, is the most cold hardy type of blueberry, and commercially the plants are dwarf and only grow 1 to 2 feet tall. Most are not improved varieties, but variable native bushes. One modern Lowbush blueberry release is "Top Hat" blueberry, and the state of Maine accounts for the largest production of Lowbush blueberry bushes adaptable in zones 3 to 6.

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