Narrative
Fruit: rabbiteye type; size medium, averaging 110 berries/cup; skin light blue, heavily waxed; picking scar very small and dry; flesh firm; recommeded as a homegarden variety and as a commercial variety; ripens mid-June, fruit tends to ripen at one time, a good characteristic for mechanical harvesting. Bush: size medium, moderately spreading; productive; vigor between Woodard and Tifblue; should be cross-polinated, recommeded that Woodard be interplanted in alternate rows. - Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties. 1997. ASHS Press. p. 176.Spreading, vigorous, good for early Pick-your-own. Fruit medium sized, very firm, very light blue. Received as Vaccinium ashei. Bluegem (early season) was released from Florida in 1970 from an open-pollinated selection of T-31 ('Ethel' X 'Callaway'). It flowers about the same time as 'Woodard', but ripens about a week after 'Climax'. Plants are intermediate in vigor, few suckers, moderately spreading, and high yielding. It has a chilling requirement of 300 to 400 hours below 45 degrees F. Berries are medium in size, very firm, light blue in color, have small, dry stem scars, but not too flavorful. As with 'Briteblue', berries have a long retention on the plant in firm condition. Harvest season in Florida is from 20 June to 25 July; however, about 90% of the berries can be harvested in a single picking. This cultivar is not recommended for commercial production. -M. E. Austin, 1944. Rabbiteye Blueberries. Ag Science, Inc. Auburndale, FL. p.14.
R. H. Sharpe and W. B. Sherman selected in 1954; introduced in 1970
Cultivar Synonym= Tested as Fla. 6-164
NAMED FOR= blue "gem" fruit