Creeping Blueberry

Size, growth and what to expect

It grows at a medium pace, about a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator. It stands 10 inches to 2 feet tall and spreads 2 to 3 feet across, rooting as it goes into a dense mat. New leaves come in bronze and turn dark green, thick and leathery.

Clusters of pinkish white bells open along the stems in April and May. The black berries, about a quarter inch across, ripen in June and July. They are edible but insipid. Birds and mammals eat them, and many native bees work blueberry flowers.

It grows wild on the coastal plain of southeastern Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. Its home is open pine flatwoods, pine barrens and pocosin edges, along with road cuts, fire trails and mown roadsides.

How to grow Creeping Blueberry

Creeping blueberry grows in full sun or light shade, and it fruits best in full sun. It needs an acid soil that drains well, sandy to loamy and rich in organic matter. It will not grow where there is lime. Set plants 2 feet apart and keep them 2 feet from a wall. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship potted. It does not like its roots disturbed, so plant it from the pot in spring or fall and leave the root ball whole. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and mulch with pine needles or leaves, clear of the stems. The seed is small and needs light to sprout. Keep the dry seed in the refrigerator for about 90 days. Then sow it on the surface of a moist, acid mix, uncovered, in light.

Water weekly through the first summer while the stems root in. Keep the mulch between the runners so they can root down as they spread. It needs no pruning.

Each flower carries both male and female parts, and bees work the flowers. A mat from one plant is a single clone, and blueberries set more fruit with pollen from another plant, so plant two or more seedlings from different parents. No pests or diseases are noted for it.