Silver Creek Nursery Ltd.

Duke Highbush Blueberry Bareroot

Species: Vaccinium corymbosum

History: Duke was developed in Maryland by Arlen Draper, a blueberry breeder working for the USDA, in collaboration with the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. After ten years of testing it was released in 1987 thanks to its early ripening time, general disease resistance, reliable crops, and suitability for commercial sale. It was named Duke after S. Arthur "Duke" Galetta of the Atlantic Blueberry Company in honour of his support for blueberry breeding efforts over the years.  

Why We Grow It: Duke produces good-sized crops of large, firm berries that are a good balance of sweet and tart. This is one of the earlier ripening blueberries and it has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Duke is an extremely reliable producer thanks to it's later bloom time that allows it avoid late spring frosts. Like other blueberries, it is great for a variety of uses including fresh eating, baking, and preserving! 

$18.00

Size

2 low in stock

Fruit Traits:

Recommended Use: Fresh eating, baking, preserving, wine

Fruit Size: Large

Storage: Keeps less than two weeks when stored in the fridge

Harvest: July - Mid

Cider Class (if applicable):

Tree Traits:

Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4

Soil Preferance: Prefers sandy, well-drained, acidic soil. We plant ours in a mix of one part peat moss and 1 part wood chips (we prefer pine). Consider checking your soil type and pH before planting and adding peat moss or other acidifiers if needed.

Flowering Time: Spring

Bloom Colour: White

Pollination Requirements: Self-pollinating, this variety will produce fruit without a different highbush blueberry variety but will produce more and better fruit if one is present

Sun/Shade Requirements: Full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily) preferred but will tolerate partial shade

General Growth Habit: Shrub reaches up to 2m tall, vigorous with an upright growth habit, produces good crops. Generally disease resistant.

Overall Disease Resistance Rating*: High

*this rating is combined with our experience growing in our test orchards combined with already available information on the cultivar.

Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of plants across Canada. We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.

Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc.

We have simplified our crop inventory for grafted fruit trees into two sizes:

1m+ Grade: this often has some feathering, and is measured including the rootstock.

50-80cm Grade: this is like a 'b-grade' tree, sometimes with minor scaring or bent, these trees are priced accordingly.

$18.00

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