Tifblue Rabbiteye Blueberry
Vaccinium ashei 'Tifblue'

Height: 8 feet
Spread: 8 feet
Sunlight: Full sun / Partial shade
Hardiness Zone: 6b
Other Names: Rabbit Eye Blueberry

Description:
A reliable native rabbiteye blueberry well adapted to southern climates, producing tasty blue fruit in summer along with excellent red fall color. For best fruiting, it should be planted with other rabbiteye blueberry cultivars for cross pollination. Like all blueberries, it requires highly acidic, perfectly drained soil and benefits from soil amended with organic matter such as peat moss.

Edible Qualities:
Tifblue Rabbiteye Blueberry produces clusters of round blue berries that are typically ready for harvest from late spring to early summer. The fruit has a sweet flavor and juicy texture and is well suited for fresh eating, cooking, baking, and preserves.

Ornamental Features:
Tifblue Rabbiteye Blueberry features dainty clusters of white bell-shaped flowers with soft pink overtones hanging below the branches in early spring. It has bluish-green deciduous foliage with glossy oval leaves that turn an outstanding red in fall. Abundant blue berries add ornamental interest during the fruiting season.

Landscape Attributes:
Tifblue Rabbiteye Blueberry is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape but can be balanced by plants with finer or coarser foliage for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds and has no significant negative characteristics.

Tifblue Rabbiteye Blueberry is recommended for the following landscape applications:
- Orchard and Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing:
Tifblue Rabbiteye Blueberry will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It tends to be slightly leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years. This variety requires another rabbiteye blueberry variety nearby for proper pollination and fruit set.

This shrub performs best in full sun to partial shade and prefers average to evenly moist soil. It will not tolerate standing water and requires sandy, highly acidic soil to prevent chlorosis. It is intolerant of urban pollution and should be planted in a sheltered location away from city conditions. Applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter helps protect it in exposed or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species.