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Growing the Unusual and Delicious Pink Lemonade Blueberry

DanFruits & Vegetables, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours

Growing an unusual and delicious fruit in your garden.  That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

Pink Lemonade blueberries have a sweet, mild, flowery flavor and a pretty pink color.
USDA/ARS Photo by Mark Ehlenfeldt.

In 1970, the USDA developed Blueberry ‘Pink Lemonade’ But when researchers brought it to blueberry growers, they were convinced because of its distinctive yellowish-pink fruit that gardeners wouldn’t buy it, thinking it was an unripe blueberry.

Fast-forward to the 2000s: Growing research into the power of cancer-fighting antioxidants as well as the popularity of backyard gardens have gardeners looking for something new and different. That’s led to a surge in popularity of blueberry ‘Pink Lemonade’.

The fruit is definitely sweeter—about two times as much—than a regular blueberry, which means it’s good eaten fresh, in desserts, or as a garnish. The fruit begins as a green color and then turns white, then a lighter pink, finally aging to a darker pink. Ready-to-harvest clusters may still be green on the undersides.

Planted in the right condition, blueberry ‘Pink Lemonade’ shrubs are fairly pest-free. However, they should be protected from deer and rabbits. Birds may eat the fruits before or as they ripen, but can typically be deterred with bird netting.

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Growing the Unusual and Delicious Pink Lemonade Blueberry

How to Grow Pink Lemonade Blueberries
by MyGreenLawn