Half-High Blueberries

Half-high blueberries are what you get when you cross lowbush and northern highbush varieties. Half-high blueberry bushes only grow to be about — you guessed it — half as tall as the northern highbush. The half-high tops out at 3 or 4 feet. It doesn’t produce as many berries as the northern highbush, but you won’t be sacrificing quantity for quality. These berries have great flavor, color, and shape.

There are well over a dozen varieties of half-high blueberry cultivars. The half-high is a compact blueberry bush that can deal with the cold and can thrive in zones 3 to 7. These bushes are sturdy. Snow? Bring it on; they can handle it. They’ll survive a snowy winter better than their taller counterparts, and give you between 2 and 8 pounds of berries per bush in a season.

Half-high blueberries are a popular choice for a hedge because of their beautiful flowers and foliage (never mind the delicious berries!). Some half-highs, like the Echo, flower twice a year, producing berries in the summer and fall.

Half-high cultivars include:

• Bluegold
• Echo
• Friendship
• Northcountry
• Northland
• Northsky
• Patriot
• Polaris

Have you ever grown half-high blueberries? How successful were you with your crop? Please share your tips for growing half-high blueberries.