Blueberry, Legacy Vaccinium corymbosum 'Legacy' Height: 6 feet Spread: 5 feet
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Hardiness Zone: 4b Group/Class: Highbush Blueberry Description: A handsome variety with sweetly-flavored light blue fruit in summer rated as one of the best tasting; bushy and compact with a standout orange fall color; blueberries need highly acidic soil, good drainage and mulch; plant with acid soil amendment Ornamental Features Blueberry, Legacy is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. It features an abundance of magnificent blue berries in mid summer. It features dainty clusters of pink bell-shaped flowers with shell pink overtones hanging below the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive red flower buds. It has bluish-green deciduous foliage. The glossy oval leaves turn an outstanding orange in the fall. The smooth tan bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape. This plant is primarily grown as an ornamental, but it's also valued for its edible qualities. The round sweet berries are most often used in the following ways: Landscape Attributes Blueberry, Legacy is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. Each spring, cut back all dead and two-year old canes to the ground, leaving only last year's growth standing. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics. Blueberry, Legacy is recommended for the following landscape applications; Planting & Growing Blueberry, Legacy will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years. This variety requires a different selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit. This shrub should be grown in a location with partial shade and which is shaded from the hot afternoon sun. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant should be periodically fertilized throughout the active growing season with a specially-formulated acidic fertilizer. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have sandy, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species. Special Attributes In the Pacific Northwest Desert blueberry plants prefer afternoon shade, the berries are sweeter too.
