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Double flowering, double delight 🫐🫐
Family: Ericaceae · Pot diameter: 17cm · Height: approximately 50cm
Vaccinium ‘Hortblue Petite’ hides a pleasant surprise behind its neat appearance: after the main harvest, it can return with fresh flowers and a second flush of fruit. The small, dark-blue berries have a rich flavour that brings something special to breakfast or a handful of freshly picked fruit. Slender branching and lively foliage remain attractive between harvests. The possibility of another autumn picking makes this blueberry a particularly rewarding plant to follow through the season.
Its low, well-branched form works as a small ornamental shrub in a terrace arrangement or at the front of an acidic border. Fine branches sit comfortably beside the light foliage of ornamental grasses, allowing the dark berries to stand out when enjoyed close by.
‘Hortblue Petite’ is more than compact; its unusual ability to flower again meaningfully extends the season.
A main mid-July–August harvest and a smaller second crop from mid-September into early October.
Many short branches create a balanced crown without the height of a classic highbush cultivar.
Berries are deep blue with lively acidity and more intense aroma at full ripeness.
Why you will love it: It extends the pleasure of harvest and remains compact enough to live comfortably near the kitchen.
Place in sun or bright partial shade, with afternoon protection in hot climates. The autumn crop benefits from a bright sheltered position.
A dwarf rhododendron, flowing grass and low violet frame the container without repeating colours.
Sun or bright partial shade; the second crop needs a bright sheltered autumn.
Even moisture with low-mineral water, without waterlogging.
Very good winter hardiness; protect container roots from prolonged deep freezing.
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.
Maintain 5–7 well-spaced branches and an open centre. No support is needed in a stable broad container.
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.
Do not prune after the first crop, maintain even moisture in August and protect later flowers from dry wind.
It crops alone, but another tetraploid highbush cultivar flowering at the same time improves the first crop especially.
The first crop ripens mid-July to mid-August and the second from mid-September into early October.
Pick when dark berries are blue to the stalk and release easily. Check the second crop frequently before cold nights.
Use removable netting on a light frame so it opens easily during both harvest periods.
After planting: maintain acidic evenly moist compost and allow the dense crown to establish without tipping.
Late winter, before the first flowering
‘Hortblue Petite’ needs light thinning, not summer pruning. Retain younger productive wood, open a small central gap and do not touch tips after the first crop, where new flowers may appear.
Action: Remove only a broken or very weak branch.
Retain: Retain every healthy short branch and its tips.
Action: Cut one rubbing internal branch and one touching the soil.
Retain: Retain 5–7 well-spaced productive branches.
Action: Remove one old branch at the base only in winter.
Retain: Retain every healthy tip from spring through autumn.
Use sharp, clean tools suited to the diameter of the wood.
Water, feed lightly if needed and leave the crown uncut for possible second flowering.
Do not do this: Do not tidy the plant in August; this removes tips capable of producing the second flush.
Many short branches build a compact shrub without long bare stems.
Spring flowers produce dark berries in midsummer.
New flower buds can produce a smaller flush in early autumn.
‘Hortblue Petite’ forms a low, well-branched shrub with small leaves along short side shoots. Dark berries hang in small clusters, easily enjoyed close by.
Repeat flowering is unusual in blueberries and is strongly influenced by light, temperature and available moisture.
What to expect after planting: Many short branches build a compact shrub without long bare stems.
‘Hortblue Petite’ emerged from the HortResearch programme in New Zealand as blueberries were gaining a place in ornamental gardens. It was selected from open-pollinated seed of a dwarf, tetraploid Vaccinium corymbosum: the maternal line was known, but the pollen parent had not been chosen through a controlled cross.
Trials in New Zealand and Germany highlighted its low stature and small, dark fruit. The cultivar reached New Zealand retail in 2005, bringing ornamental appeal and home-grown fruit together in one plant.
In 2009, Jessica Scalzo and colleagues presented the cultivar in a scientific publication alongside ‘Hortblue Onyx’. Its capacity to flower again within the growing season remains one of its most interesting features, with a second harvest possible when conditions allow.
The enzyme VcAAT1a has been studied in ‘Hortblue Petite’. It adds acetyl groups to the sugars of certain anthocyanins, producing modified pigments with enhanced stability.
The cultivar belongs to the tetraploid highbush blueberry group. Pollen from compatible cultivars affects the number of seeds developing inside a berry and can increase its size.
Six practical answers for choosing, growing, harvesting and pruning this exact cultivar.
It crops alone, but another tetraploid highbush cultivar flowering at the same time improves the first crop especially.
0.8–1m high and approximately 0.7–0.9m wide, with the habit described above.
Yes, in a 35–45-litre container with ericaceous compost, a bright position and steady moisture into autumn.
Mid-July–August and again mid-September–early October when a second flush forms.
The cultivar has this ability, but the second crop depends on light, warmth, moisture and the length of autumn.
In late winter. Do not cut tips after the first harvest because the second crop may form there.
