Blueberries, Cranberries and Other Vacciniums [Paperback]

This addition to our series offers a wealth of information and advice on growing blueberries, cranberries, lingonberries, and dozens of lesser-known relatives otherwise known as vacciniums. Jennifer Trehane explores the historical, ornamental, and edible aspects ofVaccinium, a diverse genus of more than 400 species. The culinary importance of these berry-bearing plants is well known, but too few people are aware of their ornamental potential. Many of the plants described in these pages have brightly colored young growth, flowers that are sometimes scented, and either evergreen or deciduous leaves with brilliant fall color. Some vacciniums become large, bold shrubs, while others remain small and compact, making them ideal for containers and small gardens.

This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.

Jennifer Trehane and her son have an expanding blueberry business, including a nursery in Dorset, England, that specializes in blueberries, cranberries, and related plants. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in horticulture from the University of Reading and then helped her father plant the first thousand blueberry plants that became the basis of the family business. Her other passion is camellias; she is a past vice president of the International Camellia Society and author ofCamellias.

Modern growers of European origin are not, of course, the first to cultivate wild blueberries in North America. Indians have gathered the fruit for centuries and still contribute considerably to the harvest. It was they who introduced the practice of burning to control encroaching shrubs, trees and other unwanted weeds and to kill the pests and diseases that invade the blueberry patches. This method was not very discriminating, and the European settlers arriving in Maine found a wild, desolate landscape, often with many thousands of acres charred and apparently barren. In Washington County, l'