Growing the Unusual and Delicious Pink Lemonade Blueberry

Dan Fruits, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours

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

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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’.

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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