Description
Spartan is an early-season blueberry grown for very large, light blue berries with excellent flavor, harvested in a concentrated run of about two main pickings rather than a long trickle.
Spartan blooms later than most early varieties, which usually keeps its flowers clear of the worst spring frost, and it still ripens early all the same, among the first blueberries of the season to come off the bush.
The bush grows vigorous, upright, and open, making it easy to keep pruned and to pick through, and it thrives in the same acidic, well-drained soil every blueberry wants.
Overview
- Very large, light blue berries with excellent, well-rounded flavor.
- Early season ripening, concentrated into about two main pickings.
- Blooms later than most early varieties, helping flowers miss spring frost.
- Self-fertile, with heavier crops and larger berries alongside a second variety.
- Vigorous, upright, open habit, easy to prune and pick.
Growing Details
Latin Name: Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Spartan’
Site and Soil: Full sun; acidic, sharply drained soil, pH 4.5 to 5.5
Hardiness: Hardy to USDA Zone 4
Rootstock: Grown from cuttings or tissue culture
Bearing Age: Fruits right away; full production in 5 to 6 years
Size at Maturity: Vigorous, upright, open; about 5 to 9 ft
Ripening Time: Early season; June into July
Pollination: Self-fertile; a second blueberry variety improves size and yield
Pests & Diseases: Resistant to stem gall wasp; some susceptibility to anthracnose
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: Spartan blooms later than most early blueberries, so its flowers usually clear the season’s last frosts, yet the fruit still ripens early and comes off in about two concentrated pickings.
- Regional Insight: Northern highbush blueberries like Spartan suit regions with real winter cold, from New England and the Upper Midwest to the Pacific Northwest and the mountain West.
- Explore more blueberries in our collection: Blueberries



