Polaris

Polaris is a half-high blueberry released by the University of Minnesota in 1996, the same season as 'Chippewa'. Half-highs are interspecific crosses between highbush V. corymbosum and the native lowbush V. angustifolium, bred deliberately short so the fruiting wood sits under insulating snow cover through a zone 3 winter - a structural answer to cold that no full-size highbush provides. Polaris fills the early slot in the Minnesota lineup: UMN Extension lists it as early-ripening with medium, firm, crisp berries and intense flavour, ahead of the mid-season 'Chippewa' and 'Northblue'. Yields run 3 to 8 pounds per bush. It is not self-sufficient - UMN is explicit that Minnesota blueberries including this one need a second cultivar for cross-pollination. Where northern highbush cultivars suffer dieback or fail to ripen reliably, it is one of the few genuinely dependable options.