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The king of blueberries — flavour, cropping and autumn colour that never goes unnoticed 🫐
Family: Ericaceae · Pot diameter: 13cm · organically grown · Height: approximately 30cm
Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Bluecrop’ is the benchmark cultivar for anyone wanting a substantial handsome blueberry with genuinely enjoyable fruit. Generous light-blue berries balance sweetness with lively acidity, taste excellent fresh and hold well for baking or freezing. The strong open shrub fills with white spring blossom and finishes the season in striking red foliage, bringing beauty long before and well after harvest. It is a dependable centrepiece for an acidic fruit bed or a large terrace container.
Give its naturally open crown room, steady moisture and another mid-season cultivar nearby for even fuller berries.
‘Bluecrop’ earned its classic status by balancing fruit, resilience and handsome form without compromise.
A strong natural bloom creates bright blue colour and helps the berry remain firm.
Balanced sweet acidity suits fresh picking, pies, preserves and freezing.
White blossom, dense summer green and glowing red autumn foliage provide lasting presence.
Why you will love it: It is the quality choice when you want classic blue fruit, a handsome large shrub and exceptional usefulness in the kitchen.
Plant in sun for rich flavour, adding light afternoon shade only in very hot regions. Allow approximately 1.2–1.5m from the next large shrub.
Evergreen acid-loving shrubs and low woodland groundcover frame the open crown without hiding the fruit.
Sun or bright partial shade; full sun strengthens flavour and autumn colour.
Even moisture with low-mineral water, without waterlogging.
Excellent winter hardiness for a highbush blueberry, with root protection in containers.
Wash fully ripe fruit before eating.
Plant only in ericaceous compost at about pH 4.5–5.5. In lime-rich ground, use a large container so roots remain in the correct conditions.
Water as the surface begins to dry, preferably with rainwater or another low-mineral source. Never allow the root ball to dry completely.
Retain 7–9 stems of mixed ages with an open centre. Remove low branches touching the ground.
In spring use an ericaceous feed according to its label. Small regular doses are safer than one heavy application.
Keep roots cool with pine bark and protect the container from fierce reflected heat. Foliage needs light, while roots must not overheat.
Keep pH acidic, water with low-mineral water and thin only where density prevents quick drying.
It is self-fertile and crops alone. Another highbush cultivar of the same season often increases berry size and uniformity.
It ripens in mid-season, usually over several pickings during July, depending on climate.
Wait until the whole berry is light blue, then allow a few more days for sweetness. A ripe berry drops easily into the palm.
Install netting before the first berries turn blue and secure it to a frame away from the crown.
After planting: water deeply, cover the surface with pine bark and remove only broken wood.
Late winter, before buds swell
‘Bluecrop’ fruits on short laterals carried by younger wood. Build an open shrub, thin rubbing branches and on a mature plant gradually remove the oldest stems at the base.
Action: Remove only very weak or broken basal growth.
Retain: Retain 5–7 upright stems and every healthy tip.
Action: Remove one crossing and one very low branch at their origin.
Retain: Retain short productive laterals on younger wood.
Action: Remove one or two of the oldest thick stems low down.
Retain: Retain strong new basal shoots to replace them.
Use sharp, clean tools suited to the diameter of the wood.
Aim for an open shrub containing young, middle-aged and a few older productive stems.
Do not do this: Do not cut every tip to the same height; many flower buds for the next crop are carried there.
Upright stems strengthen the crown and gradually open outwards.
Short shoots on younger wood fill with flowers and light-blue berries.
New basal stems gradually replace older branches and keep the shrub open.
Mature ‘Bluecrop’ has strong upright stems opening high in the crown, with productive laterals and large light-blue berries.
The pale waxy coating on each berry is called bloom and reduces water loss through the skin.
What to expect after planting: Upright stems strengthen the crown and gradually open outwards.
‘Bluecrop’ was born in 1934 within the pioneering American blueberry work associated with Frederick Coville at USDA and Elizabeth White in New Jersey. The cross GM-37 × CU-5 brought four earlier cultivars—‘Jersey’, ‘Pioneer’, ‘Stanley’ and ‘June’—into one new genetic line.
Seedlings were planted at Weymouth, New Jersey, in 1935. In 1941 George Darrow and J. H. Clarke selected one bush for its strong framework, large light-blue berries and balanced ripening, beginning years of trials across different regions.
In December 1952 USDA and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station officially released ‘Bluecrop’. Its consistent performance quickly made it one of the most widely planted highbush cultivars and a benchmark against which generations of newer blueberries were compared.
Like most northern highbush blueberries, ‘Bluecrop’ has four chromosome sets. Compatible tetraploid pollen germinates correctly and supports fertilisation.
Blueberries are non-climacteric: after picking they do not continue sweetening like bananas. Full flavour must develop on the bush.
Six practical answers for choosing, growing, harvesting and pruning this exact cultivar.
It is self-fertile and crops alone. Another highbush cultivar of the same season often increases berry size and uniformity.
1.5–1.8m high and approximately 1.2–1.5m wide, with the habit described above.
Yes, in a container of at least 50–60 litres with ericaceous compost, a broad base and consistent watering.
Usually during July, over several pickings once berries are fully blue and fall easily into the palm.
It is a natural waxy coating that protects the fruit. An intact bloom shows careful handling.
In late winter, removing crossing branches and gradually renewing the oldest stems at the base.
