Blueberry Bushes - Bleuetiers

Blueberries, bleuets in French, are blue to purple berries that yield from perennial flowering plants within the genus Vaccinium, with bell shaped, white, pale pink or red flowers, which are sometimes tinged green and feature autumnal leaf colouring. Blueberry shrubs vary from 10 cm high plants up to 4 m tall and are widespread in a circumpolar distribution. In their natural habitat, blueberry plants are found growing on forest floors or near swamps.
Commercially grown blueberry species exist as lowbush, or wild, varieties and highbush, or cultivated, varieties. Lowbush blueberry plants produce pea sized berries on low level bushes while highbush blueberry plants yield larger berries on taller bushes.
Lowbush blueberry is very cold hardy, prefer acidic soil between pH 4.2 and 5.2 and only moderate amounts of moisture. Wild blueberries are generally managed on berry fields called barrens.
Highbush blueberry prefers sandy or loam soils, they have shallow root systems that benefit from mulching and fertilizer.
Blueberries reproduce and fruit by cross pollination, which means more than one plant needs to be grown in proximity. To propagate genetically identical plants, separate and grow blueberry rhizomes, the underground stem network that the mother plant develops  in a large patch.
Blueberries are eaten fresh and made into juice. To extend the shelf life of blueberries, process as individually quick frozen fruit, dry, and make jellies and jam. Blueberry pies, muffins and pancakes are sough after for baking uses.