Plant Profile: Blueberries By Craig Huegel Reprinted from The Understory, Feb.-Mar. 2005 (Illustration © Cathy Vogelsong) Blueberries belong to the rather large family known as the Ericaceae. This family contains some of the most commonly used landscape ornamentals, such as the azaleas, rhododendrons, and mountain laurel, and the lesser-used lyonias and tarflower. All of these plants produce tiny seeds within a dehiscent (splits open when ripe) seed capsule. The other members of this group, the blueberries and huckleberries, differ by producing a succulent berry that is a favored wildlife and human food. This group is the topic of this article. Blueberries share many charactistics. They tend to be very sensitive to soil pH, requiring acidic soils. Most prefer a pH between 3.5 and 5.0, which is common in many native Florida soils, but often difficult to find within developed areas. They have extremely fine root systems. Container grown plants take a long time to establish themselves and should be well-watered for at least six months following planting. Flowering occurs in the sprint, with a great display of white bell-shaped blooms. This is followed by fruit production, for which they are most favored. Huckleberries differ from the true blueberries in one major characteristic: the fruits contain many tiny hard seeds that are easily discernible when you bite into them. Blueberries seem to be seedless, although they are not. Huckleberry flowers also are not as tubular in shape as those of blueberries, flowering tends to occur about two to three weeks later, and the fruit ripens at a similarly later date in summer. The common species of both are described below. Dwarf huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa). This is a very low-growing (about one foot tall) woody deciduous ground cover. It normally occurs in well-drained pinelands, where it occurs as clumps. Dwarf huckleberry is found throughout north and central Florida. Dangleberry (G. tomentosa). The other huckleberry in our region is an upright deciduous shrub that may grow to six feet in height. It is found in a wide variety of habitats, from wet to well-drained soils. Dangleberry has widespreading branches and is not much of a foliage plant, but the fruit are sweet and these make it a plant well worth using. Little blueberry (Vaccinium darrowii). This is one of two very low-growing (up to three feet tall) evergreen shrubby blueberries common to our area. Little blueberry has small leaves that are blue-green in color. The 1/4-inch fruit are powdery blue and ripen in early summer. It is common to flatwoods and better drained pine habitats throughout north and central Florida. [illustration at left] Shiny blueberry (V. myrsinites). This blueberry shares most of the characteristics of the species above; however, its leaves are a deep purple. This species commonly occurs side-by-side with little blueberry. Highbush blueberry (V. corymbosum). This species could well be a collection of several species and causes much debate among taxonomists. I tend to lump all of the highbush types together. Highbush blueberry is the parent of all commercial blueberries grown in eastern North America. It occurs naturally in a variety of wet to well-drained habitats throughout north and central Florida. This multi-branched deciduous shrub may reach 12 feet in height, but often occurs at half that size. Deerberry (V. staminium). This deciduous shrub can grow to 15 feet in height, but usually is half that tall. Unlike the other blueberries described here, its flowers are more open and bell-shaped and they are attached to the stems by noticeable stalks. Deerberry occurs mostly in the understory of open woodlands with well-drained soils and is found throughout north and central Florida. The mature, 1/3- to 1/2-inch fruits are variable in color and not as sweet as the other species described above. Sparkleberry (V. arboreum). This is the only tree-form blueberry native to Florida. It may grow to 30 feet in height, and at this size is a breathtakingly beautiful plant. Its aesthetic appeal is enhanced by its profuse, snowy white, fragrant blooms in the spring, its rusty flaky bark, and its reddish fall color. Sparkleberry fruit and not very sweet, but they are relished by birds. It is adaptable to a wide variety of sites (it has better pH tolerance than most species), but seems to do best in somewhat filtered sunlight at the edge of a woodland or beneath some pines.