Blueberries are not male/female plants. But they produce more fruit when they can cross pollinate with another blueberry that is blooming AT THE SAME TIME. Therefore, the key to picking a good one to pair with another is to get the ones that bloom together. Down here in Georgia, we have what we call early, mid and late season blueberries. It is recommended to pick two different cultivars in the same group (early, mid or late).

Winterberries are hollies and they are male/female, hence the creative naming of different cultivars to denote male and female.

The following linked article has some good information for blueberries in Michigan, including some cultivar names.

Here is a link that might be useful: Michigan blueberry article

When I planted my blueberries some years ago, I chose early middle and late plants. They overlap and I get a huge berry set.

Blueberries are self-fertile - even a single plant will produce fruit. But heavier fruit set will occur when two or more different cultivars are planted together. Bloom time on all plants will generally have some overlap although I'd might not select just very early season plants to combine with late season plants :-) The "early" and "late" season designation refers to harvest time and has only minor implications for blooming - FWIW, ALL plants at my nursery are currently in some phase of the bloom cycle, regardless of harvest designation.

And laceyvail has the right idea - combining plants with a range of harvest periods will not only maximize the amount of berries produced but extend the harvest over the longest period of time.

I purchased a rasberry and a blueberry plant 3 weeks ago and do I need to get another of each to produce fruit or are just the two fine for getting fruit? I have just the two plants a rasberry and a blueberry.

Carole,

Self-fertility varies considerably among blueberries. Some are not reliably self-fertile, at all. Others can produce large quantities of fruit, on their own. Most are somewhere in between. Without knowing what cultivar you have, we don't know what type of success you are going to have with a single blueberry cultivar.

Also, given your zone 9 climate, I hope you've chosen a cultivar that will do well at your location.

P.S. ...

I got to thinking more about that post I just made...

Since you are in a warmer area (zone 9), it's likely you chose a southern highbush cultivar (although maybe not). Most (or maybe all?) southern highbush varieties are at least partially self-fertile. If you have chosen a southern highbush type, another variety may increase production and quality but is likely not required.

I just bought three blueberry plants one early one middle one late do I need one more of each I live in gigharbor Washington zone 4-5

Roy, you should be fine with those :-) They will cross pollinate each other very adequately. Once they start producing nicely, you might find you want to add a few more - blueberries can be a bit addicting.

btw, Gig Harbor is a USDA zone 8......or if you live on the water, maybe even a 9 like my Bainbridge Island location. The 4-5 reflects your Sunset zone, which is out of sync for most responders to relate to.