The Polaris Blueberry, otherwise known as the Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ or American Blue Vervain, American Simpler’s Joy, Blue Vervain, Ironweed, Wild Hyssop, Swamp Verbena, is a somewhat well known perennial plant native to the Northeast, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest of the United States.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Polaris Blueberry Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Polaris Blueberry are the following:
- Water: The Polaris Blueberry needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Polaris Blueberry in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, chalk, and loam.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Polaris Blueberry this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Polaris Blueberry belongs to the Verbenaceae family, the genus Verbena and the species Hastata, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’.
As with other Verbena’s, the Polaris Blueberry is a semi-evergreen plant, which means it will shed its leaves but only for a short period of time.
Growing Region
The Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ is used to growing in specific regions such as the states in Northeast, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest of the United States.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Polaris Blueberry is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ will be most used to regions where the plant hardiness level falls between 3a, 3b, 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8b, 8a.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Polaris Blueberry is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Polaris Blueberry? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ can grow up to 2′ – 5′ (60cm – 150cm) in 2′ – 5′ (60cm – 150cm) and 1′ – 3′ (30cm – 90cm) in 1′ – 3′ (30cm – 90cm).
These dimensions make the Polaris Blueberry a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 30″ (75cm) free so the Polaris Blueberry can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Polaris Blueberry is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Polaris Blueberry in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Polaris Blueberry is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Polaris Blueberry prefers to have soil with occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, chalk, and loam.
This is why most experts agree that the Polaris Blueberry requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Polaris Blueberry requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ in full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a semi-evergreen plant, the Polaris Blueberry will shed its leaves but only for a short period of time.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Polaris Blueberry to flower around the summer months from July to September (summer).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Polaris Blueberry produces some beautiful white, or blue and purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Polaris Blueberry have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Polaris Blueberry is well known for being able to attract butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for wet soil and drought conditions, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Vaccinium Corymbosum ‘Polaris’ will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Polaris Blueberry will look best in it.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden, informal and cottage, city and courtyard, gravel and rock garden, and in prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Polaris Blueberry’s best location within your garden is in ponds and streams, banks and slopes, beds and borders, and in wall-side borders, others use it for landscaping in a container, border, or a hedge.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Polaris Blueberry, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
