Native to North America, blueberry shrubs produce delicious fruits and beautiful autumnal foliage and can grow well here in the UK’s climate. 1 The history of blueberries: From Native American staple to domesticated superfood. (2019, January 19). University of Illinois. Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/garden-scoop/2019-01-19-history-blueberries-native-american-staple-domesticated-superfood

A large cultivar with an upright habit, ‘Aurora’ can grow to 2.5m in height and spread when mature if given the right conditions and enough space to grow. With vigorous growth, it can reach a little over 1m in height and spread over time and, as with all blueberries, requires an ericaceous soil. Providing intense autumnal foliage, blueberry ‘Aurora’ has great ornamental qualities before turning dormant for the colder months. References I grow a couple of these in my garden, including V.‘Sunshine Blue’ and V. ‘Top Hat’, and these produce a large crop on relatively small bushes. A semi-evergreen blueberry shrub, it displays bright pink flowers before fruiting and its foliage provides lovely autumnal interest as the leaves turn purple-red. 7) V.‘Pink Lemonade’Flowering later than others, but often ripening early, it can be an excellent choice for growing in areas where late frosts can present a problem. Fruiting in July, ‘Patriot’ is an early-season blueberry that produces mid-blue coloured and medium-sweet berries with an excellent flavour.

Fruiting from July, it is a vigorous shrub that produces deep blue-coloured berries with a good flavour. More tolerable of soil conditions than others, it can be a good choice for those growing on less-than-ideal ground conditions. 6) V.‘Sunshine Blue’ Pruning is rarely needed in the first two years after planting – just remove any crossing or unwanted branches if necessary.

However, the bioactive compounds in blueberries appear to outweigh any negative impact of the sugar when it comes to managing blood sugar.

Research suggests that anthocyanins in blueberries have beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. These anti-diabetes effects have been observed with both fresh and freeze-dried berries ( 32, 33, 34). Blueberry ‘Pink Lemonade’ is a new self-fertile cultivar introduced from North America that produces pink flowers followed by pink blueberries which are firm with a delicious and mild flavour. Blueberry ‘Sunshine Blue’ will have an eventual size of only 1m high and half as wide, making it ideal for growing in smaller spaces or containers. In a study in 32 obese people with insulin resistance, two blueberry smoothies daily caused major improvements in insulin sensitivity ( 35). Blueberries are small — around 0.2–0.6 inches (5–16 millimeters) in diameter — and feature a flared crown at the end.

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With white flowers in spring that produce flavoursome sky blue blueberries from July to August, it looks great coming into autumn as its foliage turns red. Having received the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), it has proven to perform reliably well. 3) V.‘Berkeley’

After that, prune at any time from November to March, but ideally in late February or early March when the fruit buds can easily be distinguished from leaf buds. Fat buds produce flowers and fruit, while smaller, flatter buds form shoots and leaves – aim to retain branches with lots of fruit buds. As with other container-grown blueberries, it will benefit from a monthly liquid ericaceous feed throughout the growing period. 10) V. ‘Herbert’ The blueberry bush ( Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus) is a flowering shrub that produces berries with a bluish, purple hue — also known as blueberries ( 1). There are Blueberry cultivars more suitable for smaller gardens that grow 0.5m-1m high & wide,” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly. I like ‘Berkeley’ as its berries are very sweet,” shares Lorraine Summer, owner of Trehane Nursery, which specialises in blueberry plants.Rated H6 for hardiness, blueberry ‘Duke’ can tolerate the worst of winters and temperatures as low as -15-20°C. 2) V. corymbosum‘Spartan’ Slightly smaller than ’Duke’, blueberry ‘Spartan’ will reach 1.5m in height and spread over time with an upright and bushy habit. For a dwarf and compact blueberry that is ideal for containers or the patio, blueberry ‘Top Hat’ is perfect as it will only grow to 50cm tall and wide. All of the varieties mentioned below must be grown in acidic, loam or sandy soil in full sun or part-shade in a sheltered location.