Varieties of Blueberries for Zone 6

Northern Highbush Blueberry

• Northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) grows wild in zone 6 from southern New England south into north Georgia and west to northern Oklahoma. The USDA also reports populations in two western Washington counties. Requiring 800 annual chill hours, this 6- to 12-foot-tall shrub has produced dozens of commercial cultivars. As ornamental as it is productive, northern highbush has deep green, oval leaves that become red to purple in autumn. Its white or pale pink, bell-shaped blooms open in mid-spring. The sweet, edible blueberries are an important wildlife food. Popular cultivars of this bush are 'Aurora', with berries ripening into September, and 'Chandler', with the largest berries of any blueberry cultivar. Northern highbush likes full sun to partial shade.

Lowbush Blueberry

• Lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) grows wild in zone 6 regions from New England south to Virginia and west to Ohio. Standing just 6 inches to 2 feet high, this heavily twigged, open shrub spreads up to 2 feet. Wild plants require from 1,000 to 1,200 chilling hours. Their deep green summer leaves take on shades of red or bronze in fall. Cutivars 'Claret' and 'Burgundy' have eye-catching fall foliage, according to the University of Connecticut Plant Database are commercially available. the shrub's mid-spring, white flowers produce small, blue-black sweet fruit that feeds wildlife. Lowbush blueberry tolerates partial shade but flowers and fruits most heavily in full sun.

Half-High Blueberries

• Hybrids of wild highbush and lowbush plants, half-high blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum x V. angustifolium) grow from zones 3 to 7. Like their lowbush parents, they need from 1,000 to 1,200 chill hours. Their height and spread depends on their parentage, according to the Fall Creek Farm & Nursery website. 'Northsky', at 18 to 24 inches high and up to 3 feet wide, is the most cold tolerant of all blueberry varieties. It has glossy green foliage with red or burgundy fall color; profuse, white spring flowers; and small, mid-season berries. At 4 feet, 'Chippewa' is the tallest of these hybrids. It has pale blue, sweet fruit and red fall leaves.