Wild blueberries in NY

Almost every summer I go to Upstate NY and pick blueberries. The bushes are wild and get really tall, does anyone know which species these are? I really hope some one knows b/c I want to buy some and plant them here in MD. All my repeated efforts from taking cuttings don't really pan out.

In 2002 I got a couple of lowbush (wild type) blueberries from Clear Ridge Nursery, the native plant place in Union Bridge MD. They list the species as Vaccinium angustifolium. Go to www.clearridge.com or call 888-226-9226 (according to the 2002 catalog I have here). They keep changing their "minimum" order for non-wholesale customers, but they have lots of other great trees and shrubs at very nice prices. Unfortunately, I can't report on how they're doing, as the neighbor mowed them down by mistake a couple of times. (He was mowing along the outside of their fence, guess he thought he was doing me a favor by chopping back something scrubby looking, but... twice??) I want to try them again, after we beat back the poison ivy that's trying to take over our little fence row, so keep us posted on how your efforts pan out!

Thanks sooooo much! I thought that's the kind they were but I ruled it out b/c I started thinking, why would such tall plants be called lowbush?

Oikos also carries em. http://oikostreecrops.com/eatnative.htm. Cheap but small plants.

I'm also taking out a large area of weeds and that's where my blueberries and bilberries are going to go. Maybe some other things, it depends on just how much room there is. It's prime location in full sun, but we have sweet soil so I'm going to have to ammend it.

That's really too bad about your neighbor. My dad is the same way, anything is a prime target for his stupid ride on mower. It really makes landscaping hard... and expensive. He not only mows over my plants but also my wildlife and native plantings. Some of that stuff is really hard to replace.

Maybe you could post a sign that reads "Do not mow me"!

Thanks for the other link! When I get rid of that *@%**+#* poison ivy, I'm definitely going to try the blueberries again.

Well, for now, I have a big sunny area to fool around with. We had several areas of the yard tilled & amended in an attempt to overcome the clay the builder left us (60 yards of composted manure so far). So far, we've put a veggie bed, a raspberry bed, a dozen dwarf fruit trees & a pair of baby pecans, and some perennials (big oriental lily bed last year), but the area between those things has been pretty much given over to "volunteers." Not that that's a bad thing (well, except for the thistles), but my plan is to begin sowing & planting patches of perennials and reseeding annuals. If even a fraction of the seeds I've traded for so far do well back there, it'll be lovely and the flutterbys will adore it. Sounds like you have some similar plantings, so I may be hitting you up for advice down the road....

OK, back to topic. You mentioned tall plants?? The lowbush blueberries I had were definitely lower and somewhat sprawling, even before they were mowed. The Clear Ridge catalog lists their mature height as 1 to 3 feet, as opposed to 6 to 12 feet for their highbush blueberry (I guess blueberry growers must prune their plants). I just checked the Okios site, and they list their lowbush variety as 6 to 18 inches....

BTW, you should definitely check out Clear Ridge nursery. I think I paid $6 or $7 apiece for those blueberry bushes, and they were in gallon pots. We got some nice holly trees from them, too. I don't know their current policy, but in the past you were considered a wholesale customer if you spent $300, then they raised it to $500, but you could purchase less if you paid a 30% premium, and their prices were still very good with the premium.

Ah, I just checked that link for Clear Ridge, and it's turned into something else. But here's a link to their "story" http://www.americanfarm.com/grow%20top%20story%205-01-03e.html Also found another phone number, (410) 848-4789.

I might just place an order with them then. The blueberries were as tall as small trees. I think I'm going to call the depart. of whatever (can't think of the depart. right now) to find out what kind they are. They're really old plants so many they're just monstrous lowbushes???

I'm putting in soooo many gardens this spring. Bog garden, re-doing the butterfly garden, a pond with surrounding garden, rock garden, tropical garden, adding to the orchard, putting in the blueberries and other berries, a rose garden, filling in the woods with natives, making paths in the woods, etc. I'm going to be SUPER busy.

Frederick is actually pretty close to Rockville, isn't it? Brookeville is about 20 minutes from Rockeville. I'm sure I'll have a bunch of extra plants (especially since I wintersowed a TON of seeds) so we might just have to meet up and I'll give you a bunch.

Wow, you are ambitious! My DH works in Rockville; takes him about 30 minutes to get home (from Shady Grove Rd.). I didn't realize you were so nearby! I'll be doing some wintersowing next week also, so hopefully I'd have some plants to give you in return.... We'll have to get together & swap some divisions, too, once our new garden areas get going! Let's stay in touch!

Have a good weekend. TGIF!

Sounds like fun! I'll let you know also when I find out what kind of blueberries they are for sure,