Sunshine Blue Blueberry Plant

Sunshine Blue is a compact southern highbush blueberry that offers delicious fruit and beautiful ornamental color. This semi-dwarf variety produces showy deep-pink flower buds that open into pink-and-white, bell-shaped flowers in spring. The flowers are followed by sweet, flavorful blueberries over an extended harvest season.

Growing to only about 3 feet tall, Sunshine Blue is an excellent choice for containers, patios, small gardens, edible landscapes, and low fruiting hedges. Its compact growth, attractive foliage, colorful flowers, and manageable size make it one of the most decorative blueberry varieties for home gardeners.

Sunshine Blue is a low-chill southern highbush variety requiring approximately 150 chill hours. It is self-fruitful, so one plant can produce berries, but planting another compatible southern highbush blueberry nearby may improve berry size and overall production.

Plant Details

• Plant Type: Semi-evergreen to evergreen fruiting shrub
• Blueberry Type: Southern highbush
• Botanical Name: Vaccinium corymbosum hybrid ‘Sunshine Blue’
• Mature Size: Approximately 3 feet tall and 3–4 feet wide
• Growth Habit: Compact, semi-dwarf, highly branched, and somewhat spreading
• Foliage: Attractive dark-green to blue-green foliage with red, purple, or burgundy fall and winter coloring
• Flower Color: Deep-pink buds opening to pink-and-white flowers
• Sun: Full sun for the best flowering and fruit production; light afternoon shade may be helpful in very hot locations
• USDA Zones: Approximately 5–10
• Chill Hours: Approximately 150 hours
• Bloom Time: Early spring
• Harvest Time: Early to midseason; generally May into June in North Florida, depending on weather
• Berry Size: Small to medium; fruit may be smaller when the plant carries an excessively heavy crop
• Berry Color: Medium blue
• Flavor: Sweet, rich, and slightly tangy
• Fruit Texture: Firm
• Pollination: Self-fruitful, but another southern highbush variety is recommended for the best production
• Soil: Acidic, organic, moist, and very well-drained
• Preferred Soil pH: Approximately 4.0–5.5
• Water: Keep evenly moist, especially during flowering, fruit development, and hot weather
• Spacing: Approximately 3–4 feet apart
• Container Growing: Excellent choice for large containers and patio pots
• Landscape Uses: Containers, patios, edible landscapes, small gardens, low hedges, borders, and pollinator gardens
• ATTRACTS POLLINATORS: Spring flowers attract bees and other beneficial pollinators

Sunshine Blue is valued for its compact growth, pink flowers, low chilling requirement, extended harvest, and ability to tolerate slightly higher soil pH better than many blueberry cultivars. However, it still performs best in properly acidic blueberry soil.

Best Pollinator Partners

Sunshine Blue is self-fruitful, so one plant can produce blueberries. However, cross-pollination with a different southern highbush variety may produce larger berries and a fuller, more dependable crop.

Recommended pollinator partners from Advanced Nursery Growers include:

• Emerald — one of the best choices
• Jewel — one of the best choices
• Farthing — possible additional partner

Emerald and Jewel are my first recommendations because they are southern highbush blueberries with flowering and fruiting periods that should provide useful overlap with Sunshine Blue. Farthing flowers somewhat later than Emerald and may offer additional overlap during longer bloom seasons.

Bloom timing can vary with winter temperatures, spring warmth, and location, so planting more than two southern highbush varieties may provide the most dependable pollination.

Do not list rabbiteye varieties such as Austin, Alapaha, Climax, Premier, Brightwell, Powderblue, or Tifblue as Sunshine Blue’s primary pollinators. UF/IFAS recommends pairing southern highbush blueberries with other southern highbush varieties.

North Florida Growing Note

Sunshine Blue receives more than enough winter chilling in most of North Florida and the Florida Panhandle. Because it requires only about 150 chill hours, it may begin responding quickly when warm weather follows the completion of its chilling requirement.

Flowers and young berries may be damaged by a late winter or early spring freeze. Plants grown in containers can be moved into a protected area when freezing weather is expected, making Sunshine Blue especially useful for North Florida gardeners who want a compact patio blueberry.

For customers wanting the most dependable large blueberry harvest in the Florida Panhandle, rabbiteye blueberries are generally easier and more forgiving. Sunshine Blue is best promoted as a compact, self-fruitful, ornamental blueberry for containers, patios, and small edible landscapes.

Soil and Planting Note

Plant Sunshine Blue in acidic soil with plenty of organic matter and excellent drainage. A soil pH between 4.0 and 5.5 is recommended.

Pine bark, pine fines, or peat moss can be incorporated into the planting area. Where the native soil drains poorly or has an unsuitable pH, use a raised bed, planting mound, or large container filled with an acidic blueberry-growing mix.

Blueberries have shallow roots and should never be left in standing water. Apply several inches of pine bark mulch around the plant to conserve moisture, protect the root system, add organic matter, and reduce weed growth. Do not add lime because it raises soil pH.

Container Growing Note

Sunshine Blue is one of the best blueberry varieties for containers because of its compact size. Use a large container with drainage holes and an acidic potting mix intended for blueberries, azaleas, camellias, or rhododendrons.

Container-grown plants dry out more quickly than plants in the ground, so check the soil frequently during warm weather. Keep the soil evenly moist but not constantly saturated.

Pruning Note

Sunshine Blue can set a very heavy crop. If too many flower buds and berries are allowed to remain, the plant may produce a large number of very small berries and become weakened.

Thin weak, twiggy branches and some flower-bud wood during winter when necessary. Remove flowers and fruit from newly planted young bushes during their first growing season so the plant can concentrate on establishing a healthy root system.

After harvest, lightly shape the plant and remove weak or crowded growth. Avoid severe pruning because removing too much fruiting wood will reduce the following crop.

Harvesting Note

Allow Sunshine Blue berries to turn fully blue before picking. Blueberries often develop their best sweetness and flavor after remaining on the plant for several days after first changing color.

Pick ripe berries regularly because the crop ripens gradually over an extended period. Protect the plants with bird netting when the fruit begins changing color if you want to keep wildlife from harvesting the berries first.

Local Pickup and Shipping

Available for local pickup at Advanced Nursery Growers in DeFuniak Springs, Florida.

Limited shipping may be available for select smaller plants. Please contact us before placing an order that will require shipping so we can confirm availability, plant size, and shipping cost.

Wholesale Availability

Wholesale pricing may be available for qualifying quantities. Please contact us for current plant sizes, availability, and wholesale information.

Advanced Nursery Growers
1911 McLeod Road
DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435
Call: 850-391-2228
Email: info@advancednurserygrowers.com