Largest & Sweetest Blueberry Varieties
Big is easy to breed for; big and sweet is the trick. These five pair top-end size with the flavor nursery descriptions and growers consistently praise — with O'Neal as the southern flavor champion.
Chandler — The biggest berries
Chandler's claim is simple and checkable in your own hand: berries approaching the size of cherries, ripening gradually over as long as six weeks — the longest picking window of any variety here. That long window is the whole strategy: instead of one overwhelm…
Mid to late — up to 6 weeks of picking · Extra-large — among the largest of any blueberry berries · Where to buy · Full profile →
Jewel — The largest southern berries
Jewel produces some of the largest berries of any southern highbush, early in the season, and asks only for a low-chill winter in return. Its one quirk is worth knowing: berries can look ripe before they are — give them a few extra days on the bush and the swe…
Early to mid · Very large berries · Where to buy · Full profile →
Patriot — Cold climates and heavier soils
Introduced for America's Bicentennial in 1976, Patriot carries some lowbush parentage — and it shows in the best ways: exceptional cold hardiness, a shorter open bush, fiery fall color, and unusual tolerance for wetter, heavier soils that trouble other highbus…
Early · Very large — among the biggest early berries berries · Check price at Stark Bro's · Full profile →
O'Neal — Best flavor in the South
Ask southern growers which blueberry tastes best and O'Neal is the name that keeps coming back. Large, very sweet berries over a long early window, on a bush that asks for a bit more chill (around 400 hours) than the Florida types — perfect for the Carolinas, …
Early — long picking window · Large berries · Where to buy · Full profile →
Bluecrop — If you only plant one northern variety
The most widely planted blueberry in the world for a reason: consistent heavy crops, firm berries that handle picking and freezing, and more drought tolerance once established than most highbush varieties. Developed in the 1930s–40s and still the variety other…
Mid-season — the peak · Large, firm, light blue berries · Check price at Stark Bro's · Full profile →
Buying note
Young plants are the value buy (typically $18–29); 1-gallon pots ($35–50) save a season of growth; 3-gallon plants ($60–80) save two. Shipping is seasonal — most nurseries ship dormant plants in early spring and fall. Full retailer list: Where to buy.