Blueberry, Duke, Bare Root

Duke Blueberry — Bare Root

Duke starts the harvest with firm, light-blue berries and a fairly concentrated picking window. Its relatively late spring bloom is useful where early flowers face frost, although no blueberry is frostproof.

Pollination companions

For improved fruit set and berry size, grow a different northern highbush cultivar nearby. Companion choices include Patriot, Spartan, Bluecrop. Confirm that flowers overlap in your garden; two plants of the same variety do not provide cross-pollination.

Extend your blueberry season

This variety ripens early season. Combine it with Bluecrop (mid-season), Nelson (mid-to-late), Elliott (late) to spread the picking season. Ripening season and bloom time are different. Harvest dates vary with climate, elevation and the weather each year.

Planting and ecological value

Choose full sun and moist, well-drained acidic soil, approximately pH 4.5–5.5. Test soil before planting, mulch the shallow roots and water consistently through establishment. Spring flowers feed visiting bees, especially bumblebees that can buzz-pollinate blueberries, and birds enjoy the fruit.

Plant offered: Three-year-old, bed-grown bare-root plant, 18–24 inches, for spring 2027. Supplied dormant without a pot. Remove flowers during establishment to help the plant develop roots and shoots.