Delicious Native Blueberries for Pollinators, Wildlife and You!

[@BackyardEcology]

👀👀👀👀 See what books, apps, and equipment we use on the Backyard Ecology Recommendations page: www.backyardecology.net/recommendations/ 👀👀👀👀 🌳🌿🌳🌿 Learn about more awesome keystone shrubs and trees in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJ2liaOkZbufga8 🌳🌿🌳🌿

[@trustinnatureltd.7311]

"Things are easier when you don't fight nature." A great motto for easier farming

[@karenholt9744]

I planted a Serviceberry last fall for something a bit different. I'm a pie maker so am working on planting things that can go into pies. 😂 Persimmon was planted too, and paw paw soon....

[@BackyardEcology]

That is awesome! Serviceberries are delicious, many like them better than blueberries!

[@shawns0762]

I discovered serviceberries a few years ago while hiking in northern Wisconsin, I could not believe how good they were, they are a 10 just like blueberries

[@TheAdventureAuto]

One of the best native's to have around that are highly beneficial to both humans and wildlife. You can have your cake and eat it too. You just have to eat quickly :)

[@BackyardEcology]

You have to be quick! Everything likes to eat blueberries.

[@ZedaZ80]

The last time we moved when I was growing up, we found a ton of "wild" blueberries throughout the woods. After clearing trees and brush, based on the variety and layout, I suspect it was intentional, and forgotten. The person who owned the property had died, and the kids never mentioned it. And while clearing out the brush and some trees, we found the remains of an old house. It would have been significantly older than the main one, and the main one still had nails made by a blacksmith! Anyways, one of the interesting bushes had blueberries that tasted almost cinnamony, and I think that's pretty unique. The bushes clearly had time to intermingle and cross polinate, since pretty much all of them were weird.

[@BackyardEcology]

That is so cool!

[@Inkling777]

You might contact some of those who grow blueberries for a living. Those cinnamony ones might prove to be either a new variety or a lost vintage variety.

[@snsnplpl]

Johnny Quest was my favorite serial and Life was my favorite cereal

[@BackyardEcology]

Both were good!

[@karenholt9744]

I never tried Johnny Quest, but I liked Life and Cinnamon Life. It was surprisingly good, even though plain- kind of like the famous commercial! I'd like a bowl now, actually...

[@joshward7009]

V. pallidum doesnt usually get much love, but i find it one of the prettiestt things in the forest. It exemplifies the gorgeous pastels of its genus on its new growth in spring, and maintains green stems longer than any other vaccinoid(i think thats the right word for the clade?) I've got around me. The shapes of the leaves are really cute and round too, and then its got the nice flowers and fall colors that all of em get. Not quite as tasty as a lot of the others for sure, but it certainly makes up for it in looks.

[@BackyardEcology]

It is hard to beat the blueberries for good looks! Around here it is mainly sparkleberry, and a little to the east highbush blueberry.

[@joshward7009]

A shame, we've got a ton of em where I live! They mostly grow in early growth woodlands, but where deer are managed correctly they're all over. We get hillside, northern highbush, deerberry, and black huckleberry (which is a Gaylussacia technically ig, but I can't tell the difference) Berry season is always fun if you know the off-trail spots to pick :)

[@BackyardEcology]

@@joshward7009 Nice! I think the soils limit the blueberries in my area.

[@Prairiehawkmn]

Cheerios and chocolate milk!

[@BackyardEcology]

A good combo!

[@Inkling777]

You might do a video on the many and varied rabbiteye varieties. I just planted five of them in my yard.

[@IndigoCobalt]

Count Chocula 🌱

[@BackyardEcology]

A classic!

[@janetconnors4591]

Love your to the point presentation. Love the information too, we're on 12 wooded acres looking to plant and find natives to attract all the wonderful wildlife here...thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙏

[@BackyardEcology]

Thank you! Glad you liked the video! Sounds like you have the perfect place to make into a pollinator and wildlife oasis!

[@nickgardner6340]

Fruity Pebbles all the way

[@BackyardEcology]

A classic!

[@dankeener3307]

Honey Wheats

[@brendan5232]

Really appreciate your content. So direct and to the point.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! Glad you like it!

[@CampingforCool41]

The need for acidic soil is the main problem with growing blueberries. I think serviceberries are more forgiving.

[@BackyardEcology]

Serviceberries are more forgiving soils wise, but if blueberries are planted in a raised bed the acidic soil requirement is easy enough to achieve.

[@TheTimeMachine67]

Some notes: not all vacciniums are blueberries. We also have cranberries and lingonberries in this genus, as well as many other native shrubs that produce bell flowers without much fruit value to humans. This has been an incredibly good blueberry year for me, with most of my highbushes already ripening (it is mid May as I write this). I keep mine in morning sun but fully shaded afternoon, and this has given me better results than any other setting when it comes to flowers and fruit (should be noted I am dealing with the continental heat and sun of the mid south, whereas midwesterners and deep/coastal southerners will probably find themselves with more summer cloud cover to protect from sun). The ones in afternoon sun produce good foliage, which is still useful as it can be made into teas or even eaten raw (I find the taste somewhat lemony, much like the leaves of a wood sorrel). Companion plants fantastically with rhododendrons, pines, or really any other acid tolerant native species.

[@BackyardEcology]

Cranberry video is coming in the future! I thought about including them, but figured I'd just keep it blueberries. I think the amount of sun has a lot to do with what type of blueberry you are dealing with. There are a ton of highbush cultivars out there and some are much better suited to the north, some to the south. Rabbiteyes do great in the sun of the south, as do some of the lesser planted species. Blueberries do very well in a thinned pine stand where there is plenty of light.

[@karenholt9744]

Freakies cereal had the best toys! I loved the balloon cars and boats! Can't remember what it tasted like! 😂 I liked the taste of several, but one I still get from time to time is Cocoa Pebbles.

[@BackyardEcology]

The prize inside the box was often the deciding factor. I remember those balloon powered toys!

[@lonnievarner8021]

growing up (60s) cap’n crunch, count chocula

[@BackyardEcology]

Classic breakfast cereal goodness!

[@averyeich9726]

Ty for sparkle berry

[@bunkernate]

I have rabbit eye bushes in my front yard flowerbed in the Houston tx area and they are delicious. I don’t like store bought blueberries anymore. Just have to add sulphur once a year to keep the soil acidic.

[@BackyardEcology]

Awesome!

[@morganelzey]

Mmm delicious. we don't have any wild blueberries here but if you buy regular blueberry vine, bush"?" start of a vine/ bush, they'll grow. We have wild muscadines, blackberries and frost grapes in the backyard

[@morganelzey]

This is kinda a joke but could you just water them with orange juice? Maybe diluted? I used a pinch of used coffee grounds in a gallon of water for my aloes they look good

[@morganelzey]

Oh man... I gotta say Captain crunch. Gotta love that mouth shredding flavor hahaha!

[@BackyardEcology]

No. You really need the soil to be acidic. If it isn't acidic there are things to add that will slowly break down and keep the soil at a fairly consistent pH (until they are used up) two of the most common soil acidifiers are sulfur and pine bark.

[@conureron3792]

I planted a couple in my yard in Gainesville, FL. Looking to create some “habitats”. I probably needed to check my soils.

[@BackyardEcology]

They like it acidic! Probably the hardest part of growing blueberries is getting the soil correct for them.

[@conureron3792]

@@BackyardEcology - I didn’t even think of soil pH. are there any “backyard” soil pH kits? I am planning to plant a Magnolia and was thinking I probably need to amend the soil for it…. There is a water oak, huge water oak and an azalea that does pretty well in the yard, so maybe I lucked out with the soils?

[@BackyardEcology]

@@conureron3792 Azaleas tend to like acidic soils so you may be good to go. Your county extension office should be able to do a soil test for you.

[@Guishan_Lingyou]

I loved fruit loops, but was rarely given access to them. Weirdly enough, I ate a lot grapenuts as a kid.

[@BackyardEcology]

I have always liked grapenuts, but I also love granola.

[@mitchellwnorowski6747]

How about some Florida recommendations

[@BackyardEcology]

There are many species of blueberry native to Florida - sparkleberry, deerberry, mayberry, black highbush, highbush, rabbiteye, and the shiny blueberry. All but the shiny blueberry are covered in the video.

[@TheRetrospectVault]

I have 4 rabbiteye plants in my yard

[@BackyardEcology]

Awesome!

[@tarawatterson4188]

Great video - I've been wanting to better understand the various species of blueberry and how they differ. I was a Scooby Doo kid!

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad it was helpful! It's hard to beat some classic Scooby Doo!

[@tristanmills4948]

What about us out west? ;) It does give me ideas for things to look for out here though, so thank you anyway :)

[@BackyardEcology]

I don't cover the western US as it is a different world of plants compared to the east. Also, the west has a lot more ecoregions to cover. It would honestly take a half dozen channels to cover the western US. There are a few channels out there covering different parts of the west.

[@eklectiktoni]

Tristan, I don't know if there's any blueberries native to the West. But you guys do have native Rubus (blackberry/raspberry) and strawberry species. Also pricklypear cacti (Opuntia spp.) are native to all the lower 48 minus New England iirc. Any of those are great for pollinators/wildlife and provide yummy fruits for us humans. HTH. :)

[@eklectiktoni]

Actually, I just checked USDA Plants...there are a few western Vaccinium after all. But I unfortunately know nothing about them. :( I'd check with your local extension office or native plant society.

[@tristanmills4948]

@@BackyardEcology I'm getting that impression. I do like a lot of the principles you mention though, and using this as a starting point. A great example is the wild ginger - it seems there's a local species of it filling the same niche, so that is now on my roadmap.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@tristanmills4948 Yes! There is a western wild ginger, Asarum caudatum, that is similar in growth habitat to the one I focused on in the video.

[@baddriversofcolga]

It's too bad Sparkleberry's berries aren't better eating because they produce berries later than most other blueberries. They're very beautiful, though, and I'm surprised they're not popular in the nursery trade. We have a lot of Mayberry growing wild here as well and the berries are quite good, though very small! I've transplanted a few from my woods into a sunnier area.

[@BackyardEcology]

Sparkleberry is a super good looking shrub - hard to beat when its in full flower! I think it is way underutilized in wildlife plantings as it has a ton going for it. No mayberry here, but it is also a great wild blueberry!

[@CharlesEzelljr]

I really like the information you share with us, I live in southeast Missouri, which State are you from.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! I am in central Kentucky.

[@brewskimckilgore6796]

vaccinium cohabitates well w many pines since the needle drop tends to raise soil acidity also im a coca pebbles guy (but i actually like the generic kind better lol)

[@BackyardEcology]

Blueberries and pines go well together. Cocoa peddles are a classic!

[@karenholt9744]

Yay! Me too! Sometimes I would get Cocoa Puffs by mistake and it wasn't even close!

[@44nobody]

Pine needles do not actually raise soil acidity. That is a common myth. 🌲

[@BackyardEcology]

@@44nobody The needles that drop and are on the surface don't change soil acidity. If worked into a raised bed pine needles can lower pH a small amount (but not like sulfur or ammonium sulfate will). Pines often grow in acidic soils which is why blueberries tend to be found in the same areas.

[@johnchristie1423]

Interesting that in the boreal forest the main pollinator is some of the ant species.

[@BackyardEcology]

It is cool how things change with geography!

[@j.b.4340]

Huckleberries are what we have. Gulf coast. I guess they’re mayberries.

[@BackyardEcology]

Could be. There are a few blueberry species down that way. Many are also called huckleberries.

[@stevesouthwood3380]

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

[@BackyardEcology]

Mine too!

[@karenholt9744]

Yes, that came along a bit later in my childhood, but we bought it often.

[@iansammons2730]

Any that will do well with minimal sunlight? About half my yard is 2-3 hrs scattered light up to 3-4 hrs direct light... most things survive there but very little but weeds grows at any appreciable rate.. put a ton of shade tolerant fruit trees and bushes and best case they grow 6 inches or so a year... most have gone 3 yrs with hardly any noticeable growth. Trying to find something that will actually do well for native food forest... shade is from 70+ ft tall oaks, giant Norwegian spruce, silver maple, etc at the corners of my and neighboring properties.

[@BackyardEcology]

Most fruit producing trees and shrubs will need at least 6 hours of light to grow and produce much of anything. More light than that is better. Many of the blueberries will live fine in shade, they just don't produce much at all.

[@ConstantGardener-q9q]

I would love to hear a review of gooseberries

[@BackyardEcology]

Might be a future video...

[@emily60156]

Honey Nut Cheerios

[@BackyardEcology]

A great cereal!

[@mathewwright4129]

Great video, great channel!

[@BackyardEcology]

Thank you!

[@mikjb]

Say so you know of a channel like yours for Minnesota?

[@BackyardEcology]

I don't know of one specific to MN. We cover the eastern US so MN is included in many of the videos.

[@mikjb]

@@BackyardEcology I have just noticed most of these kinds of channels tend to cover the east and the South. I was glad to see that you covered at least as far west as Minnesota and as far north as southern Canada.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@mikjb I'm not sure why the coverage is mainly in the east and south, but it does seem to be the case.

[@SilverScarletSpider]

can you do a video on strawberries vs mock strawberries? i want to destroy every mock strawberry and plant only real strawberries

[@BackyardEcology]

Did that very video about a month ago! You can view it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4OnZKugaqqqrNE

[@karenholt9744]

Oh my! My yard will certainly keep you busy...

[@erwinbrubacker7488]

Fruitloops 😂

[@BackyardEcology]

A classic with a great mascot!

[@janetconnors4591]

Froot Loops.

[@BackyardEcology]

A classic! Great commercials back in the day too!

[@maxgucciardi4507]

Could you please do a video on native plants that grow well in or on the margins of ponds or wetlands? I learned the other day there is a single speciest of lotus native to the United States (Nelumbo Lutea), and I thought that was amazing.

[@BackyardEcology]

I do have some wetland/pond related videos in the works. Not sure when they will come out but they are on the list!