Gulf Coast Blueberry

Gulf Coast Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum 'Gulf Coast') is a low chill southern highbush variety, which is the practical way of saying it fruits in Australian gardens that never get properly cold. It makes a tidy shrub around 1.5m tall and 1.2m wide, with white and pink bell flowers in late winter and sweet berries through late spring.

Why you'll love it

• It fruits without a cold winter. Most blueberries need a long chilling period. This one was bred for warm climates, so subtropical and warm temperate gardens crop well.
• A hedge that feeds you. At 1.5m by 1.2m it is the size of an informal edible hedge, dense enough to define a boundary.
• Three seasons of interest. Pink and white bells in late winter, berries into early summer, then warm red autumn foliage.
• Built for containers. Blueberries want acidic soil, and a pot is the easiest way to guarantee it.
• Safe and full of life. Not toxic to cats or dogs. The flowers bring in bees and the fruit brings in birds, so plan on netting.

Where it works best

Edible hedging. Plant 1m apart for a productive informal hedge. The bushes knit into a row within two to three seasons while each plant keeps the light it needs to set fruit.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. A pot 400mm or wider filled with an azalea and camellia mix is the most reliable way to grow blueberries in Australia, since it lets you control the acidity.

Small gardens and feature planting. A single bush in a sunny corner gives flowers, fruit and autumn colour from a square metre of soil.

Growing Gulf Coast Blueberry in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest crop, with a little afternoon shade acceptable inland. It suits subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens and is frost hardy and humidity tolerant, so it handles a Brisbane summer and a Melbourne winter equally well. In the wet tropics the chill requirement is not met.

Soil. This is the make or break point. Blueberries need acidic, free draining soil rich in organic matter, ideally pH 4.5 to 5.5. In neutral or alkaline ground use a pot rather than fighting the soil. Mulch 75mm deep with pine bark, since the roots are shallow.

Water and feed. Consistent moisture matters more than volume. Water deeply two or three times a week through flowering and fruiting. Feed an acid loving fertiliser in early spring, and avoid lime, dolomite and high phosphorus products.

Pruning. Leave it alone for the first two years beyond weak twiggy growth. From year three, prune in winter once the leaves are off, taking out the oldest canes and replacing about a fifth each year.

What to expect when it arrives

This variety is grown in 140mm pots, sold in packs of ten. Each plant is a young bush, 20cm to 40cm tall with several stems, and a pack of ten runs about 10m of edible hedge at the recommended 1m spacing.

It is deciduous, so plants ordered between late autumn and early spring arrive as bare or sparsely leaved stems. That is normal. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full edible plant range
• Planting tips for a productive fruit garden
• Compare fruit trees for the home garden
• Choosing the right pot size for potted fruit

Common questions

Do I need a second plant for pollination?

Not strictly. 'Gulf Coast' is self fertile and will crop alone. A second low chill southern highbush variety within a few metres improves berry size and yield.

Can I grow it in ordinary garden soil?

Only if that soil is genuinely acidic and free draining. In neutral or alkaline ground the plant yellows between the veins and declines, so a large pot is more reliable.

When will I get fruit?

A light crop in the second year and a worthwhile one from the third. Net the bushes as the berries begin to colour, because birds find them before you do.