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March to early June is the best time of the year to identify wild blueberries in Florida, because this is when you will find the white blueberry blossoms and then later the tiny wild blueberries.
We walked by a wild blueberry bush several times a week for almost two years, before I spotted a white blueberry flower and realized what a treasure we had at the land.
Wild blueberries are tiny, but they are delicious and refreshing, and our toddler loves eating nature's vitamins.
As we removed more palmettos at the land more blueberry discoveries were made, and as I walked the perimeter of our property yesterday I discovered yet another wild blueberry bush.
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| Native blueberries North Florida |
Imagine my surprise and excitement, when I stood in front of a blueberry bush so tall that I at first could not decipher, where the wild blueberry bush ended and the tree canopy began.
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| Our two-year-old son picking wild blueberries. |
This bush is at the edge of the wetland line, but it has seeded itself on top of an old tree stump, so it is able to keep itself above the highest waterline.
We have since explored more areas at the perimeter of our land and discovered an actual native blueberry grove with at least 15 wild blueberry bushes.
.jpg "Wild Blueberries in Florida") |
| Our 9-year-old daughter standing in the middle of a wild blueberry grove in Northeast Florida. |
There are at least eight wild blueberry types native to Florida, and we believe we have found at least two of them on our property. Next year we will be checking earlier in the season, as blooming blueberry bushes make identification easier.
Unfortunately our neighborhood has been overwhelmed with investors, and it is only a matter of time before the properties surrounding our land will be developed and each lot will be cleared of any native plants.
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Maybe you could dig up some smaller ones and transplant on your property. We love your area, and we are saddened by the urban sprawl. We are south of Tallahassee with the same sprawl. I am noticing more wild edibles. Thankfully we have large lots in the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteYes, we've actually been trying to do this, but there a very few small ones. So far we've had two small successful transplants. We're also trying to propagate by cuttings and air layering. It's so disheartening though, we try to save and share with anyone who are willing to plant in their gardens, but at the same time they are tearing down so much woodland in our county.
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