Patriot High-bush Early season Blueberry

Vaccinium corymbosum 'Patriot'

Patriot is a one of the favorites of home gardeners in colder areas because it makes an excellent landscape plant as well as producing a nice crop of berries. It is a little more hardy than most varieties. It has showy white blooms in the spring, with dark green foliage in the summer, turning fiery orange in the fall. It is very cold hardy and bears consistent crops of large, dark blue, highly flavored berries. It will adapts to most soil types, but will perform better on wetter soils than most other varieties. Production is average with 10-20 pounds per bush when mature. Patriot ripens for the most part with Duke in early through mid-late July.

Pricing

Patriot Blueberry, Large 18-24" plant    -    $11.99

Height 3-4 Feet

Spread 4-6 Feet

USDA Hardiness Zone 3-7

Homeowner Growing and Maintenance Tips Almost all blueberries are self-fertile, but experience has shown that you may get larger crops of bigger berries if cross-pollinated with other varieties. Make sure you have adequate cultured or wild bees for pollination. Blueberries do best on soils with high organic matter, adequate moisture all through the summer, and a pH in the range of 4.5 to 5.0. For once Grandpa recommends amending your soils with lots of well decomposed organic materials like weathered sawdust, wood chips, bark, or good peat additives. Make sure you try to bring the pH into the optimum range before planting. Most blueberries will tolerate soil with higher, but not flooded, water tables. If you are growing in a more "upland" site, with sandy soils, make sure to irrigate regularly to maintain a moist, but not soaked soil condition through the season. Prune bushes when dormant to open them up to better sunlight penetration when they grow up and get too thick. See Grandpa's Growing Tips for more on blueberry culture.

A Little History Patriot was introduced by the University of Maine where is was found to be more winter hardy than most other available varieties. It also will tolerate wetter soils with more clay and higher water tables. It is one of the few varieties resistant to Phytophthera, a soil fungus that cuases root rot that is widely distributed on wet soils.

Characteristics & Attributes

Bloom Character • Self-fertile • Mid-season blooming	Fruit Characteristics • Large fruit	Growth Rate/Habit • Compact habit • Spreading habit	Harvest Period • Early season
Other Attributes • Aromatic • Complex flavor	Site Requirements • Full Sun • Very hardy	Skill Required • Easy to grow	Uses • Canning or freezing • High dessert quality • Cooking or baking • Good for drying • Good for pies