I think like most blueberries they will produce more with 2 types of blueberry plants. I have an ozarkblue and it does well in SoCal, it was developed by University of Arkansas, I believe it is a southern highbush made for the upper south.

rasputinj, thanks for that tip! What might be a good companion for ozarkblue?

I have an ONeal next to mine.

Scott

Scott, approximately when do ozarkblue and oneal bloom for you? I think we are not too far from each other.

they both bloom pretty close for me, I think Ozark produces fruit after O'Neal at least it does for me.

My Ozarkblue fruits about 1-2 weeks after my O'Neal.

Hey ONeal/Ozarkblue experts: can you tell me which is which? I planted them in the same hole and they grew into each other so I need an ID. Here is a picture of the berries now:

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I think the left one is Ozarkblue and the right is ONeal based on pictures I found on the web - ? The calyx is sticking way out on the Ozarkblue and they are folded in on the ONeal - the lower left of the left berry and the upper part of the right berry show best how they differ.

Scott

Scott,

I think you are right about which picture is O'Neal and which is Ozark. I can not tell 100% for sure because I have 4 different one's planted in a wine barrel and somehow the tags disappeared.

Scott, based on looking at my plants just now, the one on the left with the flared calyx is O'neal and the right one is Ozarkblue. Also O'neal has almost no acid and is just pleasantly sweet, while Ozarkblue has a more robust sweet/tart flavor.

Thanks guys. I'm not sure how reliable calyx shape is, its probably partly weather dependent, but I will assume the left is ONeal and right is Ozarkblue and see if the taste in a few weeks confirms that. I hope that is correct since most of the bush looks like the rightmost berry and I have heard more good things about the Ozarkblue taste.

Scott

They do taste different, O'Neal has also not very little tartness, while Ozark is pretty tart.

ikea-

Ozarkblue is self-fertile to a degree, but I don't think it self-pollinates as well as many of the NH varieties. (northern highbush) Summit is the recommended variety to pollinate Ozarkblue. I suspect that many of the NH varieties will pollinate it as well, given it's late bloom date. Ozark is an excellent choice for zone 7a. It will be just fine, and I think that 5 hours of sunlight is enough to keep it happy. The definition of 'full sun' is, if I remember right, at least 5 to 6 hours of direct sunlight.

scottfsmith-

Ozarkblue is actually not a SH. (southern highbush) It is the result of a cross between a NH and a SH. What they ended up with is a plant that needs 800 chilling hours (far more than any SH) and blooms much later than any SH or rabbiteye. In fact, it blooms later than some of the NH varieties. This is very desirable, for those who don't know, because it helps to avoid crop loss from late spring frosts.

Can O'neal be used as a pollinator?
I doubt it would make a good pollinator for Ozark. Ozarkblue blooms much later than O'neal, from everything I have read so far. Probably a good 2 to 3 weeks later. I wouldn't think the bloom periods would overlap very well. However, O'neal is recommended to pollinate Legacy, another outstanding NH x SH cross. Fall Creek Nursery has a little info on recommended pollinators for some of the cultivars.

Pic of ozarkblue flowers. Very different from other varieties