Fruit: Dark blue, edible, sweet. Good for fresh eating, jams and jellies.

Soil Requirements: Low pH of 4.5 to 5.5, well-drained soil.
Size: 2-4-feet tall and wide

Sun: Full sun
Uses: Mixed border, shrub border, hedge or as an accent or specimen plant. Attracts birds.
Hardiness: Zones 3-7
Native: to North America

Patriot is a very productive blueberry that can produce 10-20 pounds of fruit per plant. It is a "half-high" blueberry variety, which is a hardy cross between highbush and lowbush-type blueberries. The berries are large and firm, have a rich flavor and ripen in July.

Patriot is adaptable to many soil types, shows good resistance to root rot, and can withstand wet soils better than other varieties.

The flower buds and woody stems are hardy to –30 degrees F. But, this variety blooms early, so either plant this variety in a location protected from late-spring frost or cover the plant at night if it's blooming and a late frost is expected.

A mature plant grows 2 to 4-feet tall and wide, with a spreading rather than upright form. Very winter hardy to -30 degrees or lower (Zone 3-7).

What you'll receive: 2-year, field-grown plants with 12 to 18-inch long stems and shipped bareroot (no soil or pot) and dormant (no foliage). Learn more about our plants.

Shipping: 1-4 plants=$11.00; add $1.50 for each additional plant over 4 plants. Shipped UPS Ground in spring from early April through mid May.

[Catalog #FS03]

About Blueberries: In addition to the tasty fruit, hardy blueberries make excellent landscape plants. They have glossy-green leaves and attractive flowers and fruit. And in the fall, the foliage turns brilliant orange to red colors. Blueberries require an acid soil with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 that is well-drained but consistently moist. Full sun for best fruit production. Birds love blueberries so be sure to plant enough to share!

Blueberries require an acid soil with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 that is well-drained but consistently moist and high in organic matter. They need full sun for best fruit production. Space 3-feet apart. Prune in late winter to maintain desired shape and size.

To prepare your soil, first have it tested for pH. This can be done through your county extension office or ask your garden center for a soil testing kit. Next, add lots of organic matter to increase soil fertility and drainage. Also add sulphur to reduce the pH if necessary. Sulfur chips added to soil will reduce the pH over time. Iron sulphate will reduce the pH quickly, but is not long lasting. Here's a good soil amending recipe for blueberries: for each plant, dig a hole 2-feet wide and about 16-inches deep. Save the top 6 inches of soil and mix in 1 or 2 bushels of compost or well-rotted sawdust and 1 cup wettable sulfur. Mix well and backfill the hole with this after setting your blueberry plant.

Blueberries are produced on one-year old wood. But during the first five years after planting, prune your plants only to remove dead or damaged growth. After five years, prune in the spring before the leaves start to grow by cutting out any weak, old stems at ground level. Keep four to six of the vigorous older stems and one to two strong new shoots per mature bush. The new shoots will eventually replace the older stems.

Fertilize your plants once a year in the spring before the plants bloom with a fertilizer formulated for acid-loving plants, such as azaleas. Also, protect your plants from rabbit damage in the winter by enclosing them in chicken wire.

• More growing tips

What's a "bareroot" plant?

"Bareroot" is a term that describes how a plant is shipped to you. A bareroot plant is not in a pot, and is usually dormant (not actively growing). See the photo to the right that shows what a bareroot rose looks like. The bareroot plants that we ship to you were harvested in the fall and placed in cold storage over the winter to keep them dormant. In the spring, we ship the bareroot plants to our customers, from early April through mid May.

Bareroot plants are easy to grow. We include planting instructions with your order. When you receive your plant, take it out of the packing material and place it in a bucket of water so that the roots are completely covered. Let the roots soak for 4 to 24 hours, then plant it in your garden. Full planting instructions with photos are available on our planting shrubs page.