SCIENTIFIC NAME: Vaccinium corymbosum hybrid 'BC4499' PP 36212

COMMON NAME: Splendid! Blue Southern Highbush Blueberry

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

GROWTH RATE: Reaches maturity in 6-8 years

USDA ZONE: 6-9

CHILL HOURS: Likely 150-300

EXPOSURE: Full Sun

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

HABIT (FORM): Multi-stemmed woody shrub with a neat, rounded shape that looks attractive without pruning, but tolerates pruning if desired

FOLIAGE: Deciduous with dusty blue-green leaves that turn red-orange in autumn; may be evergreen in warmer regions of the southern United States and in the Pacific Northwest

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

BLOOM TIME: Late spring to early summer

HARVEST TIME: Mid to late summer

POLLENIZATION: Highbush blueberries like Splendid! Blue are self-fertile and produce some fruit in isolation, but they produce a better crop with a compatible partner nearby. Plant near a highbush blueberry of a different variety that blooms around the same time to encourage cross-pollenization.

POLLENIZATION PARTNERS: Recommended partners for Splendid! Blue include early-blooming southern highbush cultivars like Biloxi, Bountiful Blue, Downhome Harvest's 'Hello Darlin', Sunshine Blue, and Bushel and Berry's 'Peach Sorbet' and 'Blueberry Buckle'.

FRUIT: Medium-sized, juicy, pale blue berries with a balanced, sweet-tart 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, hedges, borders, fall color

HISTORY: 'Splendid! Blue', officially called Vaccinium corymbosum 'NC4499', was developed by North Carolina State University over the last several decades. The original ‘NC4499’ seedling, bred in 1995, was the offspring of classic southern highbush blueberry 'Sunshine Blue' crossed with an NCSU research cultivar called 'NC3048'. Notable for its attractive blue-tinted foliage with a matte, glaucous coating, its tidy, mounding growth habit, and its juicy and flavorful fruit, the 'NC4499' seedling was selected for further development in 2003 and has been reproduced asexually via stem cuttings ever since. 'NC4499' was first sold in June of 2023 and was patented in 2024, twenty-nine years after its initial creation. It is now sold by Proven Winners under the name 'Splendid! Blue'.