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Vaccinium corymbosum is better known as highbush blueberry and belongs to the Ericaceae family. It is native to the eastern United States. This deciduous tree is a medium to large multi-stemmed shrub. This is an upright shrub, typically with several main stems, and an open crown reaching up to 10 feet tall. The simple leaves are alternate and elliptical, about 1 to 2 1/2 inches long with entire or serrated margins. They are dark green above, green or sometimes pubescent and paler below. The fall colors are excellent with a mix of red, orange, purple, and yellow. Simply beautiful! New shoots are quite attractive on close inspection. The young slender stems have wart-like dots, and they grow in zigzag. They are glabrous with a yellow-green to reddish color in the winter but the older stems are gray and slightly fissured. The bark is gray-brown to reddish brown and very shreddy. The small (3/8 inch long) pointed flowers are bell-shaped, in clusters (corymbs), and are white to pale pink. They are produced in early spring when the leaves emerged. The large, round, flower buds are globular and imbricate, while the red and pointed vegetative buds are relatively smaller. The flowers bloom from May to June. The blooms are typically numerous and somewhat showy. The highbush blueberry fruits are small (1/3 inch), dark blue and covered with a white film. The berry ripens in mid to late summer. The fruits are sweet and eaten readily by wildlife and humans. Hardiness zones: 3-9 (-37?C/-35?F, -5?C/25?F) in winter. For this tree the ideal soil is moist, high in organic matter and well-drained. It prefers an acidic soil (4.5 to 5.5). The blueberry tree likes to have mulch around the roots and full sun to partial shade. More sun translates into more into more blooms, more fruit and enhanced fall foliage color. They are often found growing in or near swampy areas, woods, and thickets. They will tolerate temperature as low as -33?F.
