Top Hat Lowbush Blueberry
Top Hat Lowbush Blueberry
Species: Vaccinium angustifolium
History: Top Hat lowbush blueberry was released by the Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station some time before the mid to late 1970s.
Why We Grow It: This variety produces small berries with a rich sweet-tart flavour. It is a popular pick for bonsai and container gardening. Blueberries are great for baking, for example Steph made some wonderful black currant and blueberry tarts that are pictured here!
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Fresh eating, freezing, baking, preserving, wine
Fruit Size: Small
Storage: Keeps less than two weeks when stored in the fridge
Harvest: July - Late
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 5
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:
Bloom Colour: White
Pollination Requirements: Requires another lowbush blueberry of a different cultivar to produce fruit, the more cultivars present the better the pollination
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily) preferred but will tolerate partial shade
General Growth Habits:
Forms a low shrub ~50cm tall, low vigour
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.