Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Elliott’
Overview
Uses: Home fruit gardens, edible landscaping, informal hedges, and wildlife plantings.
Benefits: A very late-ripening highbush blueberry that extends the harvest into late summer and early fall, after most varieties finish. Firm, medium-large berries have a tart-sweet flavor and keep well. White spring flowers and red fall color make it ornamental too. Needs acidic soil; planting another variety nearby boosts yields.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4–7
Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Life Cycle: Deciduous Shrub
Growth Habit: Upright — tall and vigorous.
Bloom Color: White
Foliage Color: Green, turning Red in fall
Mature Height: 5–6 feet
Mature Width: 4–5 feet
Bloom Season: Spring
Growth Rate: Moderate
Summary
The blueberry that keeps you picking after everyone else’s bushes are bare.
Most highbush blueberries ripen from late June through July. Elliott is one of the latest varieties grown, ripening from late August into September in many northern gardens. Planted alongside an early or midseason variety, it stretches the fresh-berry season by several weeks.
The berries are medium to large, light blue, and notably firm. They turn blue a little before they are fully sweet, so letting them hang several extra days on the bush brings out their best tart-sweet flavor. Their firmness also means they hold up well in the refrigerator after picking.
The plant itself is upright and vigorous, reaching five to six feet tall. Clusters of white, bell-shaped flowers appear in spring, and in fall the leaves turn red, so a row of Elliott earns its place in a landscape as well as a fruit garden. It is a cultivar of northern highbush blueberry, a shrub native to eastern North America.
Care
Elliott Highbush Blueberry Care
Plant in full sun for the largest harvest. Plants grow in partial shade, but they flower and fruit less.
Acidic soil is the single most important requirement. Blueberries need a soil pH of roughly 4.5 to 5.5, along with good drainage and plenty of organic matter. A soil test before planting is worth it; if your soil runs neutral or alkaline, work in peat or pine bark and use elemental sulfur to bring the pH down.
Blueberry roots are fine and shallow, so they dry out quickly. Water deeply once or twice a week through the first season, and keep soil evenly moist during flowering and fruit development every year. A three-to-four-inch layer of pine bark or pine needle mulch holds moisture and helps keep the soil acidic.
Feed lightly in early spring as buds begin to swell, using a slow release fertilizer. Blueberries are easily over-fed, so a modest amount goes further than a heavy one.
Little pruning is needed for the first two or three years. After that, prune in late winter while the plant is dormant: remove a few of the oldest, least productive canes at the base, along with weak or crossing stems, to keep new fruiting wood coming. Birds love ripe blueberries, so netting the plants as fruit colors protects the harvest.
Size
What Size is the Elliott Highbush Blueberry for Sale Online?
Our Elliott Highbush Blueberry ships in a greenhouse-grade grow pot and is appropriately sized for its container at the time of shipment. Plants ship dormant or near dormant in the off-season, so they may arrive with few or no leaves. If you have specific sizing or planting questions, please contact us.
How Large Does Elliott Highbush Blueberry Grow?
Expect about 5 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide at maturity, in an upright shape. Space plants about 4 to 5 feet apart in a row, or closer for a continuous fruiting hedge.
Additional Information
What are some common names for this plant?
It is a highbush blueberry, also called northern highbush blueberry.
Do I need more than one blueberry plant?
Elliott sets some fruit on its own, but planting a second highbush variety that blooms around the same time leads to larger berries and heavier crops. Pairing it with an earlier-ripening variety also spreads your harvest across the summer. Browse more Berries.
How do I know when the berries are ripe?
Elliott berries turn fully blue several days before they reach peak sweetness. Wait until they have been blue for a few days and come off the stem with a gentle touch. Berries picked too soon taste noticeably tart.
Is Elliott a native plant?
It is a cultivar of Vaccinium corymbosum, the highbush blueberry native to eastern North America. Selections like this are often called nativars: they carry the flowers, fall color, and wildlife value of the native species along with improved fruit. See more Native Plants of North America.
