Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
fruitnut_gw

Pink Lemonade blueberry

Has anyone tried this? It was developed by the USDA-ARS and is supposed to be hardy to Z4. It seems to be widely available already.

Comments (42)

  • fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Guess I should have made it clear that this variety has pink fruit.

  • peachymomo
    13 years ago

    I've seen them but haven't tried them, they didn't really appeal to me for some reason...

  • fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    peachy:

    I have the same feeling and suspect the eating quality is probably below par. But they are unique enough that I just might try them.

    Have you seen the bush with fruit?

  • oregonwoodsmoke
    13 years ago

    If you sell at the farmer's market, they might be a novelty item, useful to attract attention. It might also be a pretty color to add to a fruit salad.

    I think that the nutritional magic of blueberry is located in the dark skin, so wonder if a pink blueberry might be lacking the antioxidants.

    Pink is a color found naturally in some blueberry plants (pink flowers, red twigs), so maybe a pink fruit wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

    It might be fun to grow a plant or two, just to see what you get, but I wouldn't put in a whole field of them without tasting first.

  • jch062098
    13 years ago

    Can this plant grow in a container?

  • herbalbetty
    13 years ago

    I've got a few of these plants on order. I'm curious to see how they taste. They are a novelty. I've also got Razz blueberry on order. They are supposed to have a raspberry/blueberry taste.

  • elmer97
    13 years ago

    I read that a second pollinator with rabbiteye lineage is recommended for pink lemonade. Florida Rose is another recent release with pink fruit that would be ideal as a pollinator. That is if you wanted all the fruit to have the same pink color.

    Also interesting to note: Florida rose is anthocyanin deficient "no surprise" but when tested it still had high antioxidant levels similar to normal colored fruit.

    Pink Champagne is the third pink fruited blueberry I'm aware of and is better suited to northern climes than the previous 2.

    One commercial application for pink blueberries is that they could be added to canned fruit cocktail without staining the rest of the fruit blue.

  • Noogy
    12 years ago

    I believe it's selected for it's feathery fine foliage, it's low bush stature which is best suited for the ornamental/novelty market. I've seen it growing and it's definitely beautiful in comparison to, say, Bluecrop!
    That's my impression.
    Noogy

  • noss
    12 years ago

    Hi Noogy,

    Which one is selected for its feathery fine foliage?

    Also, I've read that Pink Lemonade is a highbush blueberry. We should call them, pinkberries, I think. :)

    Hi Elmer,

    Why would a rabbiteye blueberry be used with a highbush, if in fact the PL is really a highbush, as some places I read about it are saying. Can different types of blueberries be used as pollinators?

    I'm not experienced in growing blueberries. I got three Sunshine Blue plants last fall and they did well in a container over the winter and this spring, I bought three plants at a local nursery, which are, Climax, Premier and Brightwell to go with the Sunshine Blue even though they are supposedly self-pollinatore.

    I'm keeping all the blueberries in containers so they can be moved around and put in a different place for the winter to optimize their cold exposure.

    Anyway, that's it for blueberries and those were all gotten either last fall, or this spring.

    I don't know whether to try the Pink Lemonade in my zone-9a, or not.

    I'm going to look up the Sweet Crisp and see if that is good for my zone.

    Thanks everyone,

    Vivian

  • blueboy1977
    12 years ago

    From what Ive read about pollination in blueberries is that a southern high bush can pollinate a rabbiteye. The problem there is having the flowers blomming at approximatly the same time due to chill hour diffrences. Now a rabbiteye, from what Ive read, will not pollinate a southern high bush. Nice to see another Zone9 in the house! Im in Zone9b in the south Houston area. Ive also got Brightwell and Sunshine Blue, just lost a Premier to stem blight. I think it was infected when I bought it from the Home Depot. Another cool plant is the Bountiful Blue. Its by far the sweetest looking blueberry plant Ive got. Berries are pretty tasty too!

    Bountiful Blue
    {{gwi:74033}}

    {{gwi:74032}}

  • tc88
    12 years ago

    Pink Lemonade is not exactly a highbush. The flower looks quite different and much smaller than the ones on highbushes. The leaves look different too. It's really a hybrid.

    Here is the pedigree info from USDA.

    NJ 89-158-1(cross of two triploids, NJ 856-1 x NJ 859-1) x Delite (V. ashei)

    V. ashei is rabbiteye.

  • Noogy
    12 years ago

    Hi Ness,
    Pink Lemonade is the pretty one, lower, round, whereas the bluecrop lacks the ornamental attributes. Thus they're filling in different maarket niches.
    I'd landscape with pink lemonade, but wouldn't venture as far as planting a row of htem expecting highly marketable fruit.
    tc33 has got it right, being a hibrid.

    It looks as if you might want some southern varieties, from your usda zone.
    'Legacy' is an August(sw mi)fruiting variety you may want to consider. It's a northern/southern highbush cross you can use as an excellent pollinator.
    Remember to prune the flowers the first couple years.
    Good luck,
    Noogs

  • noss
    11 years ago

    Hello,

    I was pretty ill all last year due to medication problems and never got back to this thread.

    I just found it again and want to thank everyone who gave me input about the Pink Lemonade "blueberries". I didn't order any of the plants because some places said to zone 8 and some, zone 9. The people who created and work with this variety say it's not clear yet how well they do in zone 9, but some people are growing it in zone 9.

    I now have 6 Sunshine Blue plants, 1 Brightwell, 1 Premier, 1 Climax and 1 Tifblue. I'm going back tomorrow for another, larger Tifblue. I will then have enough early and mid-season for them to be able to pollenate each other, hopefully.

    The Sunshine Blues are nice, small plants that only require 150 chill hours and I think that may be the lowest of them all, not sure.

    I just bought the Tifblue on Tuesday.

    The second set of Sunshine Blues got badly damaged when they were put out in the strong sunlight late last summer and I thought they were dead.

    I pulled the dead leaves off of them, repotted them and kept them in under the carport where they got morning sun. I put some soil acidifier in the potting soil and let them be, making sure they got adequate watering. They all recovered and the one that was the most dead-looking looks better than the two that looked better right after the problem. It doesn't seem like blueberries should get a lot of sun in this hot climate.

    I'm wondering if any one else has bought the Pink Lemonade plants and if any of them, if any, live in zone 9. I'd like to know how they are doing.

    Thanks so much,

    noss a.k.a. Vivian

  • bamboo_rabbit
    11 years ago

    Vivian,

    I am in zone 9 in Florida. Have 142 blueberry plants including 9 sunshine blue. I can assure you they will do best with as much sun as you can give them. The plant troubles you had were not caused by too much sun.....it had to be that the mix had too high of a PH OR the plants got dried out. If they were still in the small pots from the nursery they need at least daily watering.

  • Kevin Reilly
    11 years ago

    It's funny that no one ITT has tried the pink lemonade. They're sold at all the local nurseries here in San Jose, I've never tried them myself.

    Anyone have a taste report?

  • Karly30
    11 years ago

    I planted two of these in pots in my front yard, since they are so ornamental. So far they seem to be doing well, and are both setting fruit. I'll try and remember to report back after they ripen.

  • raiquee
    11 years ago

    Hello!

    Bring this thread back up front. I have purchased 6 of these from our local tractor supply and potted them up. I want to use them in the landscaping around out deck, and figured if I got pink fruit, why the heck not?

    I haven't tried any either, and if mine do flower I am going to pinch them off as they are tiny. Maybe i'll let one develop a little fruit in case Karly doesn't get back to this thread.

  • noss
    11 years ago

    Hello BR,

    Thanks for the input. I was told by a neighbor that blueberry plants can't take the full sun here in LA, but I'm very interested in what you said about full sun.

    You may be right about the plants drying out, too, now that I think of it. We were having the house repaired and repainted so the plants were out in the center of the front yard for a couple of weeks and they did get dry a couple of times. I wasn't up to par because of illness and then my husband got sick and had to have surgery twice, so I was busy taking care of him. I watered the plants hit and miss. I'm surprised I didn't lose any of the potted fig trees, but I had all the plants bunched together in the yard hoping they would shade each others' pots.

    The little Sunshine Blues that died back so badly are looking so good now. What a relief that is. They didn't get any berries on them but that's good because it's less stress for them. I would have removed any berries they might have gotten anyway, after what they went through.

    Thanks for the tip on the full sun. I will move the blueberries out back where they will get more air and sun. Some of my plants got what the nursery people said is powdery mildew. It's been rainy and that's when the white stuff showed up on the leaves. Poor plants. At least the little Sunshine Blues didn't get the mildew. Now I need to find out what to do to get rid of the mildew.

    I don't have a link for them but I was in contact with the people who bred the Pink Lemonade BBs and she was really nice. I had a question about them being all right for zone 9a. It was still up in the air back last year if they would do all right here.

    I would like to get a couple of the plants to play with and see how they do here. I hope people will keep reporting on them and how they are doing.

    noss

  • KarenK53
    11 years ago

    For lots of great information regarding Pink Lemonade Blueberry, go to the Facebook page below. Southern California gardeners are harvesting some of the first picks of the season. Up in Olympia, WA, we will not see a harvest until late August.

    Great flavor! There is no "back bite" from the tannins as with the blue cousins. Just a very sweet flavor. Kids love 'em as do the birds! So watch carefully before they disappear.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pink Lemonade Blueberry Fan Page

  • riverman1
    11 years ago

    My buddy has two pink lemonade blues growing in pots. I looked at them tonight, he has them planted in pure peat and they are thriving. One of them looks to be 4' tall at least and only in its second year. Weird thing was I didn't see any berries on it while the surrounding highbush plants all had lots of berries.

    RM

  • queensinfo
    11 years ago

    anyone have a taste update from this past season. Would these work in NYC (zone 7B)?

  • uscgardener
    11 years ago

    I liked the taste of my Pink Lemonade blueberries. It is not quite like the Sunshine Blue, a little different than a traditional blueberry flavor. I thought it had a really good aftertaste too.

  • Bradybb WA-Zone8
    11 years ago

    queenskitchen,
    A few ripened on mine and they tasted good.They are rated for zones 4-8,so they should be fine for NYC. Brady

  • kcscholar
    11 years ago

    Read through all your messages about Pink Lemonade and Razz. I find it interesting that I can't get a lot of feedback on taste other than, "it's nice". I like my blueberries sweet (oh how I yearn for Maine blueberries, but we just can't grow 'em here just east of Sacramento, CA). Are they sweet or tart?

    Also, I REALLY want to try these Razz Blueberries you all are talking about. Can we get there here in California?

  • fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    For sweet blueberries in zone 9a get Sweetcrisp. It might be hard to find in CA since it is pretty new. The link below might help.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Sweetcrisp source

  • Bradybb WA-Zone8
    11 years ago

    kcscholar,
    Yes,Pink Lemonade blueberries taste sweet.
    Jung Seeds is where my Razz came from,but it looks like they don't ship to California.I thought I saw another place online that carried it and I will post if It's found again.
    Also,the chill hours in your area may not be enough for these two varieties.
    The last place I bought Sweetcrisp from was Mail-Order Natives.The plants were in good shape and about two years old. Brady

    The photo was taken today of the Sweetcrisp from Mail-Order Natives with some smaller ones with leaves in the background acquired from another source.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Mail-Order Natives Sweetcrisp

    This post was edited by Bradybb on Tue, Feb 19, 13 at 3:09

  • m_taggart
    10 years ago

    I thought I might bring this thread back to the top rather than starting another.

    I purchased a near-dead Pink Lemonade blueberry at one of the big box stores and was able to nurse it back to health. I am wondering the following and can't find good answers anywhere. Is this a highbush (north or south?) or rabbiteye type of blueberry? What other varieties are compatible pollinators for pink lemonade? I grow tifblue, powderblue, and climax rabbiteyes. Will these pollinate the pink lemonade? And conversely, would the pink lemonade pollinate the climax rabbiteye? I find that the tifblue and powderblue flower a bit too late for the climax and I don't get very good fruit set.

    Also, how well does the Pink Lemonade tolerate higher pH? By higher pH, I mean 5.5 and above.

  • Ernie
    10 years ago

    It's a rabbiteye/highbush hybrid, so your other rabbiteyes should help with pollination and, presumably, it should help pollinate them. I'm not sure about bloom time, though, nor have I seen anything about it being any more or less tolerant of higher pH soils.

  • island2island
    10 years ago

    Well I bought 3 of these 2 years ago and they did fine first year in pots that I overwintered in a barn (where I overwinter my maples). That winter (2011-2012) was unseasonably mild - flet like when I lived in Philadelphia (a Zone 7 climate) We have about 30 large highbush blueberries (probably 10 years old) that produce great all summer long so I think we have a good blueberry climate for northern highbush but the pink lemonade plants did not make it through the 2012-2013 winter (I take that back - one did then promptly succumbed by about May). Even though they say hardy to Zone 4, with the rabbiteye parentage, I think that might be stretching it. I live just south of Albany, NY near the Western Mass border so it gets pretty cold here during normal winters and my big potted Chicago Hardy Fig which survived the previous winter as well (pot in barn with leaves packed around it in chicken wire) took until July (!!!!) to leaf out so it is going to stay indoors this year. YMMV - certainly in a rabbiteye growing or mild winter zone (think PNW, CA, the South), the pinks may do well

  • alan haigh
    10 years ago

    Cathy, roots are much more cold sensitive than branches so it's pretty hard to apply your experience to in-ground plants especially without a ball park figure on lowest temps in the barn.

  • beeman_gardener
    10 years ago

    I have one Pink Lemonade. The jury is still out as to winterability as this is it's first season in ground in Zone 5, Ontario.
    It has grown well, about 4 feet tall, but has a 'feathery' foliage. What fruit there was (not much) took forever to ripen up into smaller berries then our Blue Crop. Reasonable taste, but nothing to write home about.
    Will give it another year.

  • beeman_gardener
    10 years ago

    I have one Pink Lemonade. The jury is still out as to winterability as this is it's first season in ground in Zone 5, Ontario.
    It has grown well, about 4 feet tall, but has a 'feathery' foliage. What fruit there was (not much) took forever to ripen up into smaller berries then our Blue Crop. Reasonable taste, but nothing to write home about.
    Will give it another year.

  • alan haigh
    10 years ago

    Meaning it's a late, right? I just bought a plant to install for a customer as a novelty.

  • Bradybb WA-Zone8
    10 years ago

    From what I've read it is part albino and the berries need sunlight on all sides to ripen fully.I saw this happening with mine this year.It is in a container and the fruit facing the Sun turned color while the backsides had somewhat white areas.I turned the pot about a third revolution about every week and the berries color changed.
    They still have a good taste,a little tangy if picked early.I'd call them a mid-late. Brady

  • yawiney
    10 years ago

    My exp. here in CA with the PL's has been similar to Beeman. I wonder if the small amount of fruit has to do with pollination. They were sold to me as SHB which is what all my other BBs are.
    BTW I ordered Sweetcrisp from Berries Plus. After many attempts, it seems they are the only place that will ship them to CA. They will be here in 2 weeks. Thanks for the tip Brady.

  • junk4us
    7 years ago

  • junk4us
    7 years ago

    Thanks. The kids eat it faster than I can pick them. The berries were small last year. This year I put jubilee next to it and it made a difference.

  • yawiney
    7 years ago

    Havn't noticed a difference in the PL production since putting in the Jubilee. They are very spreading and growing well. Just not alot of fruit. Jubilee on the other hand is my biggest producer.

  • junk4us
    7 years ago

    My PL has good growth too and very moderate production compared to jubilee. The berries are just bigger this 2nd year.


    Will the PL production increase with time?

  • yawiney
    7 years ago

    I wonder this as well.

  • junk4us
    7 years ago

    We will compare next year.

    PL

    Jubilee is smaller and younger than PL but better producer. I didn't expect berries this year.


Sponsored
Hoppy Design & Build
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars9 Reviews
Northern VA Award-Winning Deck ,Patio, & Landscape Design Build Firm