What Do Wild Blueberry Bushes Look Like?

Berries

• Ninety percent of wild blueberries ripen in mid to late August, according to Nova Scotia Agricultural College. They are ripe when they turn from a pink or violet to a dark blue. The blossom end of the berry has a five-pointed star-like feature at the calyx. They grow in bunches from buds, which develop between leaves.

Bushes

• Bluberry bushes are deciduous woody shrubs. Lowbush blueberry bushes are about 1 foot in height and cover a large area of ground as they spread through the rhizomes. Each stem produces both buds and leaves, and the berries develop from the buds and are ready for harvest in late summer. Each year in a wild setting they will spread 1 1/2 inches, according to Wildblueberries.net. If encouraged and competing weeds are removed they will spread much faster.

Rhizomes

• Lowbush blueberries are rhizome-spreading plants. This means that unlike their cultivated "highbush" brothers they do not need planting, but instead they will spread along underground roots called rhizomes that grow horizontally. Each shoot that arises from one of the roots is called a "clone" because it will have the same characteristics as the other plants from that rhizome.

Flowers

• On production years blueberry bushes produce clusters of white bell-shaped flowers. Flowers at the tips of the clusters open first, and all flowers bloom in early spring. The flowers are a sign that there will be a harvest that summer. Fruit will develop two to three months after bloom. Bees are the primary vessel for pollination of blueberry plants both in the wild and commercial settings.

Geography

• Wild blueberries like acidic soils, long days and cool nights. They are found in temperate climates with adequate snow fall in winter to cover the plants and keep them from being exposed to cold winds. Lots of precipitation is necessary and drought will quickly stunt their growth. Blueberries are grown commercially in Nova Scotia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Maine.