Lowbush blueberry
Vaccinium angustifolium
The wild Maine blueberry: small, intense, needs acid soil.
Hardiness: zones 2 to 6
Light: full sun
Size: about 1.5 ft tall, 2 ft wide
Harvest: July to August
From: NE North America
Drought-hardy once established
Here: Hardy in the Lake Erie shore climate (zone 6b to 7a), so it can live outdoors in the ground.
Good for: food, pollinators, wildlife, butterfly and moth caterpillars.
Native to: Northeast, Midwest & Great Lakes, Eastern Canada. Hardy in zones 2 to 6.
The story
Wild lowbush blueberries carpeted the burned-over barrens of Maine and the Maritimes, where Wabanaki peoples managed them with fire for thousands of years and dried the berries for winter; Maine growers still burn the fields every other year. They are the small, intense blueberries in muffins and pies.
Planting
Full sun, acid, sandy, drained soil; it will not grow in clay or lime. Plant in a bed of peat and sand, 12 inches apart; it spreads by rhizome into a mat.
Growing
Keep moist with rainwater, mulch with pine needles, and mow or burn the bed to the ground every other year after harvest; it fruits on one-year wood.
Harvest and use
Berries ripen in midsummer; rake or pick by hand. Smaller and sweeter than highbush. They freeze well.
What to watch for
Birds, and alkaline soil or water.
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More native and wild plants
General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home