Lowbush Blueberry
Vaccinium angustifolium
A low native mat with small, intensely sweet berries and vivid scarlet fall color. Thrives in poor, dry, sandy soil with no maintenance.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Native groundcover for rocky, dry, acidic sites that produces the most flavorful berries of any native blueberry.
Lowbush blueberry is the native groundcover that grows wild across granite barrens and rocky hillsides from Virginia north to Labrador. In the garden, it spreads slowly into a dense, six-to-eighteen-inch mat that needs no maintenance and rewards you with the small, intensely sweet berries that make highbush blueberries taste bland by comparison. The berries are smaller, the flavor is concentrated. The fall color is outstanding, one of the best of any low-growing native, turning vivid scarlet and red across a planting in October. It tolerates poor, dry, sandy soil and is one of the most cold-hardy native shrubs available. Deer largely leave it alone once established. Plant in drifts on a sunny slope or bank for groundcover effect and berry production.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown lowbush blueberry propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 6"–1.5' · 18–36 in wide
- Bloom time
- Spring
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 2–6
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America from Labrador to Virginia, primarily acidic rocky or sandy barrens
Care notes for lowbush blueberry.
Requires acidic, dry to moderately moist, sandy or rocky soil. Full sun is essential for flowering and fruiting. Does not tolerate heavy clay, standing water, or fertilization. Mulch with pine bark to maintain acidity and moisture. Plant in groups for berry production; individual plants rarely fruit abundantly. Essentially maintenance-free once established in the right site.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside lowbush blueberry.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.