Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum x Vaccinium darrowii) CAROLINE®

Blueberry (Northern Highbush) - Variety 'Caroline'® (syn. 'Caroline Blue'®)

'Caroline' is an excellent, late-ripening blueberry variety that emerged from a successful Australian breeding program. Among growers and experts, it is highly prized primarily for its exceptional flavor profile – offering very sweet fruits with a distinctive, specific aroma. Thanks to its later ripening time, it is an ideal choice for extending the harvest season in the garden, while its compact growth also suits growers with limited space.

Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) 'Caroline'®

Thanks to its later ripening time, it is an ideal choice for extending the harvest season in the garden, while its compact growth also suits growers with limited space.

Main advantages of the variety:

• Excellent, very sweet, and distinctively aromatic taste (rated as one of the best).
• Beautiful light blue fruit color with a small, dry scar (excellent shelf life).
• Compact, lower, and neat growth (suitable for smaller spaces).
• Fruits do not drop after ripening and hold well on the shrub.
• Late ripening time ideally extends the blueberry season.

Origin and Breeding

• Botanical classification: Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum).
• Origin: The variety was selected in Australia (Horticultural Research Institute, Knoxfield) under the working designation "Selection 21". It is an open-pollinated seedling of the well-known American late variety 'Lateblue'.
• Introduction to the market: Officially named and introduced in 1988.

Detailed variety description: Plant

• Vigor and shape: Unlike many other vigorously growing varieties, 'Caroline' is characterized by medium-strong (moderate) growth. It forms a very nice, compact, and dense shrub that remains relatively low. Thanks to this naturally neat shape, it is ideal for smaller gardens or growing in bulky containers.
• Yield: The plant is very productive and provides good and stable yields.

Fruits and Flavor Profile (Key feature)

• Appearance and size: Fruits are large in the first harvest phase (average weight of the first fruits reaches 2.0 g). They have an exceptionally attractive, very light blue color (rated with the highest grade in tests).
• Stem scar: Fruits have a small and dry scar after detaching the stem. This is a very important trait that prevents juice leakage, infection penetration, and significantly extends fruit shelf life after harvest.
• Taste: This is the greatest asset of the 'Caroline' variety. In professional tastings, it received the absolute highest rating (10/10). The fruits are very sweet and feature a specific, distinctively aromatic taste that sets them apart from the regular standard.

Cultivation properties and agrotechnics

• Ripening and harvest:
  • Harvest time: It is a late variety. It begins to ripen about a week to 10 days after the well-known mid-late variety 'Brigitta'.
  • Harvest progress: Ripening is relatively concentrated, but the overall harvest window is long. Fruits have an excellent ability to "hang" on the shrub – after ripening, they do not drop and do not spoil quickly, which facilitates harvesting.
  • Size dynamics: Important trait of the variety: The highest quality and largest fruits are obtained at the first harvests. As the season progresses and the shrub exhausts itself, the size of fruits from later harvests visibly decreases (diameter drops towards 1.5 g).
• Environmental requirements:
  • Like all highbush blueberries, 'Caroline' requires a sunny location and strictly acidic, permeable soil (pH 4.5 – 5.5) rich in organic matter (peat). The shallow root system requires regular watering and mulching with bark.

Drawbacks of the variety:

• Fruit size is not uniform throughout the season – towards the end of the harvest, fruits visibly shrink.
• Less vigorous growth means the shrub reaches its final size slightly slower than strongly growing varieties.