# Hairy Blueberry (Vaccinium hirsutum) > A low, colony-forming blueberry of the southern Appalachians, hairy in every part, down to its sweet, fuzzy, blue-black berries. Also called small cluster blueberry, Cyanococcus hirsutus. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/hairy-blueberry/ ![Hairy blueberry (Vaccinium hirsutum) leafy stem with a cluster of hairy green berries](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/hairy-blueberry-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Mason Brock, Public domain ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AVaccinium_hirsutum.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 1 to 3 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 7 to 8 - Grows wild in: The Appalachians and dry uplands - Native range: Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee - Sun: Part, Full - Soil moisture: Average, Dry - Growth rate: Medium - Traits: Rare, Edible - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Hairy blueberry is a low blueberry found only in a few counties of the southern Appalachians, where southwestern North Carolina meets Tennessee and Georgia. Its shoots, leaves, flowers and even its berries are covered with hairs, which makes it very distinct among blueberries. It forms open colonies on dry oak and pine ridges and in mountain meadows. NatureServe ranks it vulnerable in North Carolina and Tennessee and imperiled to vulnerable in Georgia. Grow it as a knee-high carpet on a light, acid slope under oaks, where its runners can fill in. ## Size, growth and what to expect No source rates its growth, so our growth estimator treats it as medium, like our hillside blueberry, about a foot and a half a year. It stands 8 inches to 2 1/2 feet tall and spreads by underground runners into open colonies. Short clusters of white bells tinged with pink open in early summer, hairy outside, each about a third of an inch long. The berries are blue-black, about a quarter to a third of an inch across, and covered with glandular hairs. Their flavor is sweet and pleasant but mild. It grows wild only in a few counties of southwestern North Carolina, southeastern Tennessee and northern Georgia. Its home is dry oak and pine ridges, red oak woods and mountain meadows, from about 2,000 to 5,000 feet. ## How to grow Hairy Blueberry Hairy blueberry takes part shade or sun, as on the open oak and pine ridges where it grows wild. In gardens it spreads fastest in a spot that stays moist and is not too sunny. It needs an acid soil that drains well. 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 bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and mulch with pine needles or oak 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. It spreads by underground runners into a colony, so give it room. It needs no pruning. Each flower carries both male and female parts. A colony 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. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 8: Vaccinium hirsutum](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250065718) - [NatureServe Explorer: Vaccinium hirsutum](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.133998/Vaccinium_hirsutum) - [Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society), from Bean: Vaccinium hirsutum](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/vaccinium/vaccinium-hirsutum/) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Vaccinium hirsutum](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VAHI) - [Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Biodiversity Portal: Hairy Blueberry](https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=20712) - [North Carolina Natural Heritage Program: List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina 2024, revised 2025-11-03](https://www.ncnhp.org/media/831/open) - [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Vaccinium chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Vaccinium.pdf) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [Native trees for insects: the beetles, wasps, cicadas and fireflies that everything else eats](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-insects/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for butterflies and moths: host plants first, nectar second](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-butterflies-and-moths/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Hairy Blueberry, add ?species=hairy-blueberry with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=hairy-blueberry&zone=7&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Hairy Blueberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=hairy-blueberry): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=hairy-blueberry - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Hairy Blueberry is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=hairy-blueberry - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Hairy Blueberry needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=hairy-blueberry:2 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Hairy Blueberry flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.