The cultivated varieties of the highbush blueberry are grown in home gardens and in small plantings but are not part of the commercial wild blueberry industry in Maine. Wild blueberry plants occur naturally in the understory of the forest in Maine. Blueberry plants are initially established from seed. These plants send out underground stems called rhizomes. These rhizomes grow near the soil surface, periodically sending up new stems above the soil surface.
Roots develop on the rhizomes as they grow.
The original plant, with its spreading rhizome system, is referred to as a clone. Each clone is genetically different from neighboring plants. An average clone will cover from 75 to 250 square feet. An acre of wild blueberries may contain 200 to 500 clones. Fields having dense stands of productive clones will yield 6,000 pounds per acre, but more intensive management could potentially double that production.