Earliblue

'Earliblue' is one of the old New Jersey releases that came out of Frederick Coville's breeding plantation after his death, introduced in 1952 in the same wave as 'Bluecrop', and it is still planted for one reason: it is genuinely early. PNW 656 places it at the very front of the northern highbush ripening sequence and rates the fruit medium to large, light blue, firm, crack-resistant, sweet and aromatic, in medium-loose clusters that ship well. It also carries a trait home growers should value: ripe berries stay attached to the bush rather than dropping, so a few days between picks does not cost you the crop. Its commercial standing has faded, with PNW 656 giving it the lowest large-scale rating while still ticking it for small farms and gardens, and evaluators disagree about eating quality, Penn State rating the flavour only fair against the Pacific Northwest guide's good, sweet and aromatic. The real caveats are hardiness and disease: PNW 656 uses 'Earliblue' as the benchmark that 'Bluetta' beats for frost and winter hardiness, and Penn State lists it as susceptible to Phomopsis twig blight and anthracnose.