SCIENTIFIC NAME: Vaccinium hybrid 'Perpetua'

COMMON NAME: Bushel and Berry 'Perpetua' Half-High Blueberry

GARDEN SIZE: 3-5' feet tall x 2-4' feet wide

GROWTH RATE: Reaches maturity in 6-8 years

USDA ZONE: 4-8

CHILL HOURS: 1000+

EXPOSURE: Full Sun

WATER & SOIL: Acidic, well-drained soil high in organic matter

HABIT (FORM): Multi-stemmed woody shrub with a compact, vase-like form

FOLIAGE: Deciduous with glossy, dark green leaves that turn deep red in fall

FLOWERS: Clusters of small, bell-shaped, pink and white flowers

BLOOM TIME: Two distinct blooming periods: one mid-spring and another mid-summer continuing through first frost

HARVEST TIME: Two distinct harvest periods: one mid-summer and another in fall

POLLENIZATION: Half-high blueberries like Perpetua are self-fertile and produce some fruit in isolation, but they will yield a better crop with a compatible partner nearby. Plant near at least one other half-high or highbush blueberry of a different variety that blooms around the same time to encourage cross-pollenization.

POLLENIZATION PARTNERS: Recommended partners for Perpetua include fellow half-high blueberry Bushel and Berry 'Jelly Bean', as well as other late-blooming highbush cultivars like Bluecrop, Blueray, and Patriot.

FRUIT: Medium to large berries with a powdery blue color and a sweet, mild flavor

CARE: When planting, condition the soil in an area twice the diameter of the root ball with peat moss or a soil conditioner like our Earthmix Landscape. Mix soil conditioner with existing soil in a 50/50 ratio.

Mulch with 2-6 inches of straw, wood chips, or other organic matter to help regulate moisture. Leave a gap of a few inches around the trunks to prevent damage to the stems from staying wet.

Blueberry bushes need about an inch of water every 7-10 days, though young bushes need a little more during their first growing season while they establish roots. If not enough rain has fallen, give a deep soak to the soil around the base of the plant once or twice per week. A good rule of thumb is 1 gallon of water per square foot of surface area under the canopy.

Fertilize each spring and fall with Holly-tone or another fertilizer made for acid-loving plants.

Prune in late winter to early spring while the plant is dormant. Remove weak canes and low-growing shoots that will be shaded by other limbs or touch the ground. If desired, cut taller canes down to within arm's reach to make it easier to harvest berries.

When your blueberry bush is about five years old, you may notice older canes becoming less productive. At this stage, begin cutting back 20% of the thick, gray, older branches to ground level each year. This will allow the canes to completely refresh themselves in a five year cycle.

PET SAFETY: May cause gastrointestinal issues in cats and dogs if consumed in large amounts, but not commonly eaten by pets. Always research further if you have concerns, as reactions can occur with anything. Also, remember to check the safety of any fertilizers or pesticides applied to your plants.

USES: Edible berries, container planting, borders, fall color

HISTORY: The original Perpetua seedling was grown from seed of an open-pollinated blueberry strain called 'CVAC 45'. CVAC 45 was collected from the wild in Maine in 1963 and grown in Corvalis, Oregon in the USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository. CVAC 45 shows traits that average those of northern highbush blueberries (V. corymbosum) and wild lowbush blueberres (V. angustifolium), so it's presumed to be a hybrid of the two. The mixed higbhush and lowbush heritage of CVAC 45 and its offspring, Perpetua, classifies them as "half-high" blueberries. Perpetua has been multiplied asexually via stem cuttings since 2005 and was patented in 2014 by the United States of America.