Vaccinium Powder Blue - Blueberry Bush

Vaccinium ashei 'Powder Blue' blueberry bush is a productive variety that ripens particularly late, with good-sized berries that are harvested towards the end of September and sometimes in October. The clustered berries are light blue with a beautiful powdery coating. Delicious, sweet, and tangy, they are well-suited for cooking and eating. The bush is self-fertile and thrives in acidic soil, ideally plant it in the autumn.

The Blueberry belongs to the ericaceae family, along with heathers and rhododendrons. Vaccinium ashei is one of the shrubby blueberries used in cross-breeding to delay the fruiting period and stagger the harvests.

'Powder Blue' is a perfectly hardy bush, bushy, dense, and compact, reaching a height of 2 metres (7 feet) and a width of at least 1 metre (3 feet) over time. The deciduous and thick leaves turn a beautiful shade of red as the temperatures drop. Flowering occurs in May in the form of small white bell-shaped flowers clustered at the ends of the stems. This is followed by the formation of large berries the size of small grapes, with a skin covered in a very attractive powdery coating that gives it a light blue appearance. These blueberries are very late, ripening at the end of September. Blueberries are low in calories but high in nutritional value and very rich in vitamins A, B, and C, as well as calcium and iron. They can be eaten freshly picked, enjoyed as juice, jam, jelly, sorbet, or used in pastries (pies, muffins, etc.). Blueberries can be stored for about ten days after picking and can be frozen for longer preservation.

To limit the spread of diseases and optimise pollination, it is a good idea to plant different varieties of blueberries if space permits. Cross-pollination will even benefit self-fertile varieties. Choose two or three blueberry bushes according to their harvest periods to enjoy their tangy and delicious small fruits for a long time. In the garden, the Blueberry will blend in perfectly in acidic soil beds, alongside rhododendrons, azaleas, hydrangeas, heathers, and more.