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If you enjoy growing sweet berries on your property and want to try something different from the traditional blackberry or blueberry, blueberries are the perfect choice.
When it comes to flavor, you can’t go wrong with blueberries. They taste like a perfect blend of raspberries and blueberries. These underrated berries are finally getting their due.
If you want to grow these pretty little berries at home, keep reading to learn more about the growing requirements and how to care for this plant.
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Learn to identify blueberries
Blueberries are fruit-bearing shrubs that produce tasty berries. These plants are found in Gaylussace and the Vaccine genres. There are several cultivars of each species that you can buy in stores, so there are plenty of options.
Many blueberries grow wild in North America, and species like mountain blueberries are an important food source for wildlife.
It’s easy to spot blueberries growing in your garden or in the wild because they have distinctive red, purple, and black berries. In spring and summer, you can see tiny flowers blooming on the branches in spring and summer. These flowers can be pink, red, white or yellow.
After the flowers fade, the berries emerge and ripen in dark blue, purple, red or black. On some species, the foliage is evergreen, so for every season there is visual delight in your garden.
Once the berries have ripened, you can harvest them to make jam, pies, or other sweet treats.
The best way to distinguish blueberries from lingonberries is the small spots that can be found on the underside of the leaves.
Here are some of the most common blueberry species:
- Dwarf (Vaccinium cespitosum)
- Waterfall (Vaccinium deliciosum)
- Mountain (membranous vaccinium)
- Red (Vaccinium parvifolium)
- Black (Gaylussacia baccata)
- Persistent (Vaccinium egg)
The flavor of the berries varies with climate, time of year, and species, but they taste similar to blueberries and raspberries. Blueberries can be grown in USDA plant hardiness zones 3-7.
Choosing the right location for blueberries
A smart tip for growing blueberries at home is to start by planting them in a large pot for a few years before transplanting them to the ground. This allows you to monitor their progress and let them establish themselves before they enter the earth’s soil.
Of course, if you buy a seedling that is at least a few years old, you can skip this step.
You want to start by choosing a location that will get enough sunlight throughout the day. For blueberries, these shrubs should be placed in full sun or partial shade.
Growing blueberries in full sun is possible if you live in a cool location, but the plant may struggle in full sun if you live in a warm location. If you plant in too much shade, the shrub may not fruit as quickly or as much as it would with more sun.
Soil requirements
Besides light exposure, you also need to consider the quality of the soil. The best type of soil is acidic, sandy soil. This type of soil gives the shrub the right balance of nutrients and drainage to keep it healthy.
Once you find suitable soil, you need to make sure the pH levels are between 4.3 and 5.2 before planting. Soil with the wrong pH can be modified by using sulfur or aluminum sulphate. Sulfur lasts longer.
Blueberries are hardy shrubs and can adapt to other soil conditions such as rocky or heavy soils, but they won’t do well in alkaline soil.
Temperature
Blueberries are known to grow in a range of regions and they can thrive in a range of temperatures. However, the lowest temperature they can withstand is -30°F.
This shrub needs cooler temperatures at night in the spring to start the flowering season and produce fruit. If you have warm winters and springs, you might have trouble growing blueberries.
Blueberry Propagation
To keep the process simple, follow a few steps to ensure the shrub has the best chance of surviving and flourishing in your garden.
You can plant bought rhizomes in containers by following these steps:
- Choose a location with partial sunlight
- Add your soil to a large container (make sure the soil has the correct pH)
- Plant the rhizomes in late winter/early spring
- Keep the soil moist but not wet
- Move the shrub to the garden after 1-2 years
To plant directly in the garden, wait until the last frosts in your area and place the rhizomes in the ground. Keep the soil moist while the plant establishes itself.
You can propagate blueberries by plant, but it can be difficult because the seeds are short-lived and difficult to germinate. Plant them 1/4 inch deep in prepared soil and keep the soil moist.
Many people choose to propagate blueberry bushes by division. Division involves digging up the whole plant and dividing it into several plants.
Whichever method you choose, you must clear the area of weeds and debris before planting. Pests like to burrow into the leaves, so it’s a good idea to make sure the area is clean before planting your shrub.
Care techniques for blueberries
You now have the blueberry plant in the ground; and then?
Blueberries are drought tolerant, so if you forget to water, all is not lost. If you live in a place with hot summers, you will need to water more often. If you live in an area with regular rainfall, you may not need to water at all.
The soil should be moist but not wet, and you can allow the top inch or two to dry out between waterings.
You can add mulch to the soil to keep weeds from growing, and compost or well-rotted manure will help enrich the soil. Just be careful when tending and pulling weeds, as blueberry bushes have shallow roots.
Cut
The good news is that once these shrubs are established, they don’t require much maintenance.
Pruning should be done in winter when the shrubs are dormant. This includes evergreen types. Remove any diseased, dead or crossing branches. Be careful not to remove any new growth that started the previous year, as these plants fruit on one-year-old wood.
Feel free to remove older branches as they are less productive.
Fertilizer
Lingonberries also don’t require fertilizer to be healthy, but that’s a bonus if you want to improve your plant’s overall nutrition. When feeding blueberries, you should use a 10-10-10 fertilizer during the blooming season.
A slow-release fertilizer will help improve the quality of your crop and give you lots of pretty flowers to admire in the spring and summer. Check the label for instructions before applying fertilizer to your plants.
Common pests and diseases
Although blueberries are relatively healthy, you might run into a few problems when growing them.
mummy disease
Even though mummy berry may seem endearing, the disease is anything but pleasant for your blueberries. Caused by fungus Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosithis disease mummifies the fruit.
This vicious disease is commonly found on young blueberry plants. Look for any signs of discoloration on the berries and gray powder on the leaves. The tips of young branches will die. If you notice any of these signs, you might have a case of mummy berries.
The best treatment for mummified berry disease is to remove the mummified berries and discard them. Then spray the plants with Monterey Complete Disease Control Fungicide.
leafrollers
Leafrollers are another common problem you may face when growing blueberries. These caterpillars are known to create nests in their host by folding the leaves with webbing.
They are about an inch long and have dark green to brown bodies. You can treat leafrollers by removing the infested leaf and also watching for them in surrounding plants.
For more tips, check out our guide.
Harvest delicious blueberries
Harvesting your blueberries is the easiest part of growing them. You can simply pick the berries by hand or use a rake which brushes the berries off the shrub without damaging the leaves.
You need to wait until the berries are fully ripe to get the best taste from the fruit. By midsummer, you should be able to enjoy your berries. In areas like the Pacific Northwest, they ripen around salmon season, which is wonderful because they taste great together.
You can either eat them after a quick clean with water or save them for future use. Freezing your berries in a container will keep them fresh and ripe. Plus, you can add them to your morning smoothie during the summer!
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