The South African Blueberry Company

est. 1992

 Delivering quality "early to fruit" blueberry's when most needed.

Franschhoek - South Africa

est. 1692

  Blueberries  

Bloubessies

The South African Blueberry Company is located in Franschhoek South Africa, the heart of Africa's wine producing area. Though wine grapes are grown, our specialty is export blueberries, grown in the southern hemisphere, which make them available from mid October for three weeks, or weeks 42 - 44.

For commercial purposes, the South African Blueberry Company concentrates on Vaccinium corymbosum, or Southern Highbush hybrids. They were specifically hybridized for superior fruit, soil adaptability, heat tolerance, and low winter chilling. Most southern highbush are self-pollinating. They have low winter chilling requirements. "Chilling"

is a measure of accumulated hours of temperatures below 7° C, or 45°F in the dormant season.  

In 2002 and after 10 years of blueberry farming, we decided to remove all Rabbiteye and Highbush varieties grown on the farm, with the exception of Southern Highbush O’Neil's. The O'Neal's feature a large dark blue fruit of terrific quality. They are  considered by many to have the best flavor of all the Southern Highbush varieties.

Though O'Neil's are slow growers, they fruit at an opportune moment for the northern hemisphere market. They are not only  larger than other early varieties, but are sweeter, leaving a delightful residual tartness. Our brief harvest period makes the South African Blueberry Company important to importers.

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Blueberry Information

Blueberry Recipes

Blueberry's and Health

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