Elliott Highbush Blueberry
Elliott Highbush Blueberry
Species: Vaccinium corymbosum
History: Elliott originated in 1947 when Dr. George Darrow of the USDA first bred it. The year after, it was sent to Dr. Arthur Elliott who evaluated it and the other crosses Dr. Darrow had made, and was further evaluated by the USDA, including by Arlen Draper who has bred many blueberry varieties. It was released in 1973, over 25 years after the it was originally bred. Elliott was selected for the good quality of its fruit and its exceptionally late ripening time, making it a great variety for extending the blueberry season. It was named Elliott to honour Dr. Elliott's contributions to blueberry breeding efforts.
Why We Grow It: Elliott produces large berries with a mild sweet flavour late in the season. They are great for fresh eating, cooking, baking, and preserving! The bush is very productive and the firm fruit stores well. For those who want to enjoy fresh blueberries for as long as possible, Elliott is an excellent choice due to its very late ripening time!
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Fresh eating, baking, preserving, wine
Fruit Size: Large
Storage: Stores better than most blueberries
Harvest: September - Early
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4
Soil Preference: 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:
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 Habits:
Shrub reaches a little over 2m in height, vigorous with an upright growth habit, produces good crops. Generally disease resistant.
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. 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 really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
Blueberries are divided into the following grades:
- 2 year plant - 10-45cm
There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.
All of these heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).
Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.