Vaccinium corymbosum 'Blue Jay' (Highbush Blueberry)

Vaccinium corymbosum 'Blue Jay' is a common cultivar of highbush blueberry, a bushy, upright shrub known and widely regarded for its tasty edible fruits, which are also prized by birds and wildlife. The 'Blue Jay' cultivar is a mid-season fruiter, typically producing flowers late enough in the season that they are protected from late frosts. The 'Blue Jay' cultivar's larger size also means that it will produce a heavier crop of fruit as it matures.

Vaccinium corymbosum 'Blue Jay' grows to about 5-7' tall at maturity, producing white, bell-shaped flowers which are attractive to pollinators and butterflies in late May that begin ripening into medium-size edible berries around the end of June and beginning of July. Blueberry bushes like 'Blue Jay' make great additions to open yards as a source of free fruit, or as border and hedge plantings, where you can produce fruit en masse, and fall colors of orange and red add multi-season interest. If utilizing blueberry bushes for fruit production, care should be taken to cover plants while fruit develops to avoid bird damage.