Hi, I have about 100 acres of land in upstate NY that, for decades, have had wonderful blueberry plants on it. This season was the best I've seen ever -- huge amounts of delicious berries. The bushes are completely wild -- never been pruned, soil never altered intentionally by humans, trees and shrubs never cleared out around the bushes. I'd like to start doing some minor work to assist these bushes, like pruning and clearing out the birches, pines, beeches, etc. that compete for light/water/air. I'm truly starting from scratch in all ways -- not the least my information, knowledge and skill. I was hoping to ID the varieties I have. The berries present a wide range of sizes, colors and tastes (sweet to tart and things in between). There's also ground covering berry bushes, 3-4 foot high bushes, 5-6 foot bushes and 7-9 foot bushes. I just took a whole bunch of pictures and was hoping someone here could ID them -- or at least provide some info about what I have. Here's the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/josephnyc/Blueberries Thank you very much, Joseph
If they're native should be described in treatments of wild shrubs found in your area. Some regions have several species growing together, with recognition of specific characteristics being used to separate them. New York Cooperative Extension may have information on how to manage wild blueberries as a crop there.
Ron, Thanks for the suggestion. I don't know what the NYCE is. I googled and found this: http://www.cce.cornell.edu/ Is this what you're referring to? I went to the site, and don't have a clue where to start. Thanks, Joseph