Blueberry flower

During vegetative growth, one bud develops on the stem for each leaf that is produced. The bud is located just above the point where the petiole meets the stem (leaf axil). These axillary buds are vegetative when they first develop.

Flower bud is the first sign of growth as plant growth begins in the spring. The flowers begin as tear-drop shaped buds, developing into bell-shaped flowers in clusters of 5 to 10 blooms. Many blueberry varieties have white flowers, but some cultivars have pink blossoms.

Flowering occurs in spring when floral buds swell and open, also referred to as “bud break”. Visible swelling of the flower buds; outer bud scales begin to separate at the tip revealing paler interior bud scales. This bud stage can usually tolerate cold temperatures of 10 to 15⁰F (-12 to -9⁰C).

The flowers on the blueberry bush will pollinate and set fruit in a 2-3-week window, during which the plant experiences a tremendous hormonal shift to support this reproductive phase.

Once the flowers fade, clusters of small green berries appear, gradually turning red then blue as they ripen on the bush. Depending on the variety, blueberries produce from early summer through late fall.
Blueberry flower

The Wild Blueberries

The Wild Blueberries
There are two kinds of wild or lowbush blueberries to consider Vaccinium angustifolium and V.myrtilloides. In North America most are V. angustifolium Aiton, but V.myrtilloides also occurs in some area soften near or among V. angustifolium. Vaccinium angustifolium is known as sweet lowbush blueberries, though when it is being marketed it is called “wild blueberry” to avoid confusion with the cultivated highbush blueberries. It is a dwarf, woody, usually deciduous shrub that is found growing in a wide range of areas such as high moors, exposed rocky outcrops, abandoned pastures and bogs and among pine or oak trees. The soil pH where it grows ranges from 2.8 to 6.0 and may be peaty or sandy. It is a species that tolerates a wide range of temperatures.

Vaccinium angustifolium forms a spreading mat from underground rhizomes that can spread for up to 35 ft. Uprights 12 to 18 in. high grow at intervals from nodes on the horizontal rhizomes. The twigs bear elliptic or narrowly elliptic leaves that are ¼ to 2/3 in. wide to 2/3 to 16 in. long, usually with toothed or serrate margins. Their summer color is green, sometimes with a bluish or glaucous cast, and they change to a vivid red or orange in the fall before dropping. Flower bud initiation occurs in midsummer of the previous year with flower parts undergoing initial development with flower buds, which can be identified by end of August. The bud rest through the winter until activity starts inside them, unseen, as temperatures begin increasing in March. Active growth becomes obvious in April.

Bell shaped flowers are borne in loose clusters. They mature in May and are typically white, though sometime tinges pink. They are about ¼ in, long, with a glaucous or glabrous calyx and pedicel and very occasionally pubescent or covered with a soft down. The fruit, which is quite variable in color and size, may be a dull or glossy black, although those with a good bloom appear blue. The berries may be ¼ to ½ in. in diameter. They ripen from late July in southern Maine, with the last ripen occurring in late September in Newfoundland.
The Wild Blueberries