Rabbiteye Blueberry bushes are taller than those in the highbush grouping, and can easily grow between 10 to 25 feet (3 to 7 ½ metres) tall. The berries are easy to harvest because the bushes are so tall, and open.
They tolerate heat and drought, but need another variety for pollination to happen.
The berries ripen from pinkish to light blue, and are ready to pick when they are all light blue and no red or pink is left. They are firmer and smaller with thicker skin than highbush blueberries, but their flesh is somewhat gritty or grainy.
They are grown for both fresh eating and for processing, and have good shelf life after harvesting.
In south-eastern America, 95% of the blueberries grown commercially belong to the Rabbiteye type. Nevertheless, because the berries fetch lower prices than southern highbush berries, cultivation is declining while that of southern highbush is increasing.
It is the main species grown in Western Australia.
History Notes
Rabbiteye Blueberries are native to the south-eastern United States.
Language Notes
When still immature, the fruit was thought to look like the eye of an albino rabbit – thus the name.