Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry Live Plant – 1 Quart Bare Root – 10-12 inches – Outdoor Fruit Bush

Overview

Introduce a taste of summer to your garden with the Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry live plant. This hardy fruit bush is renowned for its vigorous growth and prolific production of delicious berries. Arriving as a 1 quart bare root plant, typically 10-12 inches in size, it’s ready to be planted and begin its journey towards providing bountiful harvests. The ‘Elliott’ variety is a native American selection, celebrated for its late-season ripening, ensuring you have fresh blueberries well into July and beyond. Its large, firm fruits boast an exquisite sweet flavor, perfect for enjoying fresh, baking into pies, or preserving for year-round enjoyment. The Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry is an excellent choice for home gardeners looking to extend their berry harvest.

Known for its robust nature, this bare root blueberry plant establishes well and offers a long productive life. Beyond its fruit-bearing capabilities, the ‘Elliott’ also provides ornamental value, transforming into a blaze of crimson foliage in the fall, making it suitable for an informal hedge or a standout specimen in your landscape. Prepare your garden for years of fresh, homegrown blueberries with this exceptional variety.

Key Benefits

The Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry offers numerous advantages for the home gardener, combining both aesthetic appeal and culinary delight. Here are some of its key benefits:

• Extended Harvest Season: ‘Elliott’ ripens late in the season, typically in July, providing fresh berries when many other varieties have finished. This allows for a longer period of enjoyment from your blueberry patch.
• Abundant and Delicious Fruit: This variety produces a generous yield of large, firm, and intensely sweet berries. They are perfect for fresh consumption, baking, jams, jellies, and freezing.
• Vigorous and Productive Growth: Known for its strong growth habit, the Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry develops into a productive bush that can provide fresh fruit for many years with proper care.
• Beautiful Fall Foliage: Beyond its fruiting capabilities, the bush offers ornamental appeal. In the autumn, its leaves turn a striking crimson, adding vibrant color to your garden landscape.
• Versatile Garden Use: Growing to an average height of 5-6 feet, these bushes are ideal for use as an informal hedge, a screen, or as individual specimens in a mixed border, enhancing garden aesthetics.
• Excellent for Cross-Pollination: While blueberry cultivars are often self-fertile, planting ‘Elliott’ with at least two other blueberry varieties ensures adequate cross-pollination, leading to larger and more abundant berries.
• Long-Term Investment: These vigorous plants are a long-term investment in your garden, promising many years of delicious harvests and beautiful seasonal interest.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Proper care is essential for a thriving Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry plant. These bushes require specific conditions to produce their best fruit. They thrive in a sunny location, needing at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day for optimal berry production. When considering highbush blueberry care, soil conditions are paramount. Blueberries demand an acidic soil with a pH range of 4.5 to 5.5. Incorporating plenty of organic matter, such as peat moss or compost, will help achieve the ideal acidity and improve soil structure. Good drainage is crucial, as the shallow fibrous roots of blueberries are easily starved for oxygen in waterlogged conditions. However, they are not tolerant of drought and need consistent moisture, especially during fruit development. Aim for consistently moist, but not soggy, soil.

For planting, ensure the soil is well-prepared. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and just as deep. Spread the roots out gently before backfilling with your amended acidic soil. Mulching with pine needles, wood chips, or bark will help retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, and maintain soil acidity. Fertilize in early spring with an acid-loving plant fertilizer, avoiding those containing nitrates, which can be harmful to blueberries. Pruning is important for maintaining plant health and productivity; remove dead or weak canes, and thin out older, less productive canes in late winter to encourage new growth. The ‘Elliott’ is generally hardy in USDA zones 4-8. Protect young plants from frost in colder regions. Remember to plant multiple cultivars within 5 feet of each other for optimal cross-pollination and larger berry yields.

Size & Details

This offering includes two Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry live plants, shipped as 1 quart bare root specimens. Each plant typically measures between 10 to 12 inches in height upon arrival, representing a 2-year-old plant ready for establishment. As a mature bush, the ‘Elliott’ can reach an average height of 5 to 6 feet, with a similar spread, creating a substantial and productive presence in your garden. The growth rate is vigorous, and with proper care, these plants will begin producing fruit within 1-2 years after planting, with significant yields in subsequent years. The bare root format allows for easy planting and quick establishment in the right conditions. This variety is known for its late-season ripening, offering a harvest of large, firm berries in July and continuing for several weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this bare root blueberry plant get? A: The Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry typically grows to a mature height of 5 to 6 feet and can have a similar spread, forming a dense and productive bush.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: This is an outdoor fruit bush, best suited for garden planting where it can receive full sun and proper soil conditions to produce abundant fruit.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: For optimal growth and fruit production, the ‘Elliott’ blueberry requires a location with full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: While blueberries have specific soil and moisture requirements, with proper preparation and consistent care, they are relatively easy to maintain and very rewarding for home gardeners.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your Elliott Northern Highbush Blueberry plants will arrive as 1 quart bare root specimens, typically 10-12 inches in size, ready for planting.
• Q: When is the best time to plant this late season blueberry? A: The best time to plant bare root blueberry plants is in early spring, after the danger of hard frosts has passed, allowing them to establish before the heat of summer.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: The ‘Elliott’ variety is hardy in USDA Zones 4-8. If you are in a colder zone, consider providing winter protection or growing in containers that can be moved indoors.
• Q: Do I need to plant more than one blueberry bush? A: While ‘Elliott’ is self-fertile, planting at least two other different blueberry varieties nearby will significantly improve cross-pollination, leading to larger and more abundant berries.
• Q: What kind of soil does the highbush blueberry care for? A: Highbush blueberries require acidic soil with a pH between 4.5 and 5.5, rich in organic matter, and well-draining.
• Q: How long until I can harvest berries from this blueberry bushes for sale? A: You can expect your ‘Elliott’ blueberry plants to start producing a small crop within 1-2 years after planting, with full production typically beginning in 3-5 years.