Well, since you don't know which variety, and I couldn't tell you even if I saw them, my answer would be to just buy two plants, each a different variety. That way you'd know for sure that you have at least two varieties in you patch.

Something that may help is to ask around the neighborhood or the upick farms at the time of year they are on and then compare fruit flavor and the size of berry and clump size and shape. It is a longshot. Likely the contractor picked up 4 bushes that were discounted because everyone else knew not to pick that variety.

Also to look at are stem color at various stages of development. Leaf color in fall - some are very brilliant red others maroon, I imagine there are other shades too.

Stem shape. Some are quite contorted, others very upright. Vigor, berry color. Berry texture. Flowering and ripening dates. Whether the ripening period is brief or extended. How long they hold onto their leaves in the fall.

Of course a number of these factors can also vary based on the health of the bush, its light exposure, soil fertility, PH etc. But all else being equal you can see some marked differences between some varieties.

I have 2 bushes I bought a long time ago before I realized that the tags degrade. I have a vague recollection of what some of the choices were at the time, but I'm not sure what they are.

I can definitely tell that they are different from one another though.

Mayalena:

When you say the blueberries do not fruit very well, do you mean that they bloom prolifically, but drop the blooms and fail to set fruit? Or do you mean that they bloom very sparsely? These are two very separate issues.

In your zone, the contractor probably planted some of the most commonly available Northern Highbush varieties, such as Blueray, Bluecrop, Jersey, etc. Even if you assume the varieties are all the same (and chances are good they are not), three-year blueberry plants should begin to bloom and set fruit pretty well just about now. So perhaps all you need is a little more patience.

While you seem to be convinced your plants are in sufficiently acidic soil, and sunlight is adequate, you may wish to consider scratching in some amendments around the plants such as ammonium sulphate fertilizer (never nitrate-based fertilizers), and iron sulphate, which peps up blueberry plants and makes the leaves turn dark green. It may well be that your blueberries need a little additional help to perform as you expect.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Unless you get a DNA test, there's absolutely no way you'll ever figure out what you have. Sure, I can tell a Bluecrop from a Blueray (if they're planted beside each other and I know those are my two choices), but there are so many varieties of blueberries it's just not easy to look at a bush and name the variety. Well, Star, a southern highbush variety, has a very distinctive calyx end on the fruit, thus the name Star.

Even though one sees a lot of posts on these forums about blueberries doing better with cross pollination, it's not necessary for good producion. The great majority of commercial plantings are in large (10+ acre) blocks of single varieties. Research shows that not all varieties even benefit from cross pollination. Even those that do benefit from cross pollination still produce adequate crops.

Your problem is likely due to an environmental factor (too high pH, not enough water, etc) as Don suggested. Also, Don's question of whether the problem is that they're not blooming or not setting fruit is important. It may just be that you have very low bee populations in your area. Blueberries do require bees for pollination.

If you post some pictures of your plants, we might be able to help more!

Also, blueberries need a lot more water than other plants. They have extremely shallow root systems (often all of the roots are in the upper 12") and no root hairs, so are not very good at taking up water.

Jellyman and Fruitgirl -- you are the king and queen of solid, practical advice on the fruit forum! Many thanks to *all* of you for the good thoughts. I will watch closely this season to see what is happening with the blooms and the fruiting so I can better understand my issue. I think I'll send some soil in for a soil test too!