Southern Living® DownHome Harvest® Takes The Cake® Blueberry Shrub
Vaccinium ashei ‘Vernon’
Produces large, flavorful berries with excellent shelf life
White flowers add charm and attract pollinators to your garden
Disease resistant and heat tolerant for easy care
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A fruitful addition with vibrant berries and striking flowers
Southern Living Downhome Harvest® Takes the Cake® Blueberry—also known as the ‘Vernon’ rabbiteye blueberry—is a top choice for Southeastern gardens, where rabbiteye varieties perform best. In spring, delicate white flowers give way to an early and generous harvest of large, vibrant berries prized for their exceptional flavor, firm texture, and impressive shelf life. Ideal for fresh eating, baking, or preserving, this variety is a great option for gardeners looking to start an edible garden or add a unique cultivar to an existing home orchard.
Planting Takes the Cake® alongside other rabbiteye blueberries improves pollination and boosts fruit production. This disease- and pest-resistant variety thrives in warm Southern climates and offers excellent heat tolerance, making it a low-maintenance, high-reward addition to the landscape—even during the hottest months.
About Southern Living®: The Southern Living® Plant Collection was created to bring gardeners plants that truly thrive in real-world landscapes. Each variety is carefully selected and rigorously tested to ensure it performs beautifully—especially in challenging Southern conditions like heat and humidity. Since its introduction in 2008, the collection has focused on offering reliable, solution-driven plants with outstanding color, form, and durability, so you can garden with confidence and enjoy lasting results.
Full Planting & Care Instructions
Product Details
| Mature Height: | 4-5 ft. |
| Mature Width: | 3-4 ft. |
| Sunlight: | Full Sun |
| Growth Rate: | Moderate Growing |
| Harvest Time: | Summer |
| Botanical Name: | Vaccinium ashei ‘Vernon’ |
| Does Not Ship To: | AK, AZ, CA, GA, HI, MI, OR, WA |
| Grows Well In Zones: | 7-9 outdoors |
Growing Zones: 7-9 outdoors
(hardy down to 10℉)
Customer Reviews & Photos
Based on 1 reviews
Great blue-green color
I love the 2 bless you heart and one takes the cake blueberry shrubs I purchased. The leaf color is a lovely blue-green. This is the 2nd year for the bless your heart shrubs and the first for the takes the cake, and I have berries. I wanted to add more native plants to my landscaping. They are fitting right into one of the border beds in my backyard (zone 8b). My goal was 3 season color, and attracting pollinators not food production.
