Blueberry Plants: Do They Grow In Southern California?

Southern California offers extended blueberry harvests.

Blueberry plants are woody, perennial bushes producing small, edible blue-purple berries. Native to North America, blueberries typically grow in cooler climates such as the Pacific Northwest and North Central regions. New blueberry varieties now grow in Southern California.

Features

Native blueberry plants require extended cold weather, called chill hours, for fruit production. The new low-chill cultivars growing in Southern California require minimal cold weather for fruiting. These southern highbush blueberry shrubs provide fresh blueberries and ornamental foliage in mild climates.

Types

Cultivars suited to Southern California include Misty, fruiting as early as April. Early-flowering Reveille is harvested May through early July. High-yield Sharpblue harvests through June and July. A few cultivars such as Ozark Blue yield late season August berries.

Benefits

Southern California shrubs provide extended season berries. Due to the mild climate, some cultivars can provide fresh berries all year. In coastal areas, some berries have long harvests of three months or more compared to the average eight-week harvest. Evergreen blueberries give year-round landscape foliage.

References

• University of California Cooperative Extension: Blueberry Low-Chill Vaccinium Species; Don Merhaut, et al.
• University of California: Blueberry Research Launches Exciting New California Specialty Crop; Manuel J. Jiminez, et al., April-June 2005
• University of California Small Farm Program: Extended Season Fresh Market Blueberry Production; Mark Gaskell