Below are some basic tips to help ensure your success with blueberries:. Select a sunny location with well-drained soil that is free of weeds and is well-worked. It's best to locate your blueberry plants in an area where irrigation is readily available as best results will be achieved by keeping the root zone moist throughout the growing season. Where the soil is not ideal or marginally-drained, raised beds are an excellent option. Blueberries also do well in patio containers and offer a great way for apartment and condo dwellers and those with little or no yard to enjoy blueberries.
Blueberries prefer acidic soils. A fail-safe way to grow blueberries in almost any soil is to incorporate peat moss into the planting medium. Add an equal amount of pre-moistened peat moss and mix well. One 4 cubic foot compressed bale will usually be sufficient for plants. For raised beds mix equal volumes peat moss with bark not cedar or redwood , compost or planting mix. Talk to your local garden center.
If planted in rows, allow 8 to 10 feet between the rows depending on equipment used for mowing or cultivating. In most areas, it is ideal to plant in the fall or spring although in many regions you can plant year round.
Any sulfur applications should be made at least three months prior to planting because it takes several months for sulfur to reduce the pH. Check the pH once or twice during the first growing season to determine if still more sulfur is required later in the season.
Sometimes, the impatient home gardener will insist on planting without a soil test. In this case, mix 1 cubic foot of peat moss with an equal amount of sand. It is important to use a sand that has not been limed or that does not contain a liming material. Soil Water Drainage: On a heavy clay soil or a soil that sometimes remains wet, apply the peat-sand mixture to the soil surface and plant. If the soil has good drainage, part of the peat-sand mixture can go in a hole or furrow several inches below the soil surface.
However, leave enough of the peat-sand mixture to form a mound for single plants or a ridge for a row of plants at least 6 inches above the surrounding soil surface. The mound or ridge will protect plants from excess water; however, with this method of planting, water thoroughly two to three times per week during dry spells in the summer and early fall. Logs, landscape timbers, stones, bricks or concrete blocks can be used to contain the soil mixture in the raised bed.
Preplant Additions of Organic Matter: Blueberries are naturally adapted to high organic matter soils where soils have 3 percent or more organic matter as opposed to most mineral soils with organic contents usually less than 1 percent. Organic materials such as peat moss, composted pine bark or rotted softwood sawdust should be incorporated in soils of less than 2 percent organic matter prior to planting to greatly improve blueberry plant survival and growth.
Hardwood sawdust is not as effective as softwood sawdust or peat moss for lowering soil pH. Undecomposed softwood sawdust should not be used. Follow this popular step-by-step pre-plant program to modify soils with less than 2 percent organic matter:.
Steps 1 and 2 should be completed in the fall prior to planting in late February to late March, depending on location. If the organic matter is incorporated in the fall, any sulfur required to lower the pH can be added at the same time. Note: Water and nutrient management is difficult in pure organic material, and the plants are more likely to struggle and die.
Plants: Two- or 3-year-old nursery plants 1 to 3 feet tall will transplant well. Keep the roots moist at all times between digging and replanting. Time: Late winter February-March as soon as the soil can be worked is best for bare-root plants; fall November-December planting has been successful on sandy soils with bare-root plants and in other areas with potted plants. Spacing: Southern highbush — 4 to 5 feet in the row and 8 to 10 feet between rows.
Rabbiteye — 6 feet in the row and 10 to 12 feet between rows. Depth: Plant to the same depth that the plants were growing in the nursery or the container. Lightly firm the soil around the plant with your feet and water thoroughly. Cut Back: Remove all shoot tips that have flower buds plump rounded buds. Avoid making cuts near the base of the plants that will provide an entryway for stem blight disease. To enhance survival and subsequent growth and development, prune away two-thirds of the top growth on bare-root and one-half on potted plants.
Leave only one to three of the most vigorous upright shoots and any other growth near soil level. Surface Mulch Application: Organic material such as bark, wood chips, sawdust or pine straw as a 2- to 3-inch mulch on the surface after planting results in more uniform soil moisture, moderates soil temperature and generally promotes better growth and survival. Pine bark chips or sawdust have a pH between 3. However, surface-applied hardwood mulches have been satisfactory.
Use Caution: Blueberries are easily damaged by excess fertilizer. Apply the recommended amount and allow 4 inches of rain or an equivalent amount of irrigation between applications. First Year: Do not fertilize immediately after planting. Wait until the first leaves have reached full size, then apply 1 tablespoon of a special azalea fertilizer such as a , or within a circle 12 inches away from each plant.
Repeat at about six-week intervals depending upon rainfall or irrigation until mid-August in the Sandhills and Coastal Plain, and mid-July in the Piedmont. Use a half-tablespoon of ammonium sulfate instead of a complete fertilizer for the second and subsequent applications if high levels of phosphorus are present as determined by a soil test. Any advice. When did you plant them? Blueberries will take 3 to 4 years to produce, blackberries the second year.
The strawberries should produce a small amount the first year. How cold are you? They do require chill hours in the winter to produce blossoms for fruit. For the quickest yield of strawberries, do you recommend June bearing or ever bearing?
We are giving it another go. Planted a bunch 2 years ago and they all died. Pretty sure it was because they were in raised beds off the ground, not ones that go all the way to the ground , and the freezing temps above, below, and all around all winter was too much.
We are in SW Montana, Zone 4. So they are going in the ground this time, not the beds, and hope for the best. Unfortunately we rent, so hoping you can help us know which variety will produce the quickest? Thank you! I do June bearing because I want the large crop all at once so I can then focus on the other berries and vegetable garden.
With zone 4 the raised beds may have been a factor like you suspect. For cooler climates, ever-bearing is often recommended as more cold tolerant and can give a larger crop overall. Thank you so much for responding so quickly! But now you brought up another question. I thought they would be a good thing, to keep the original plants re-producing themselves.
So much to learn!! This is my first planting in them. Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Regardless, I only link to products we use on our homestead or believe in.
Plant Patent 23, Chippewa Northblue. Northcountry Northland Northsky Perpetua U. Plant Patent 24, Melissa Norris Melissa K. Read more about Melissa. Related Episodes. Comments: Really good information. Melissa, I have two dwarf peach trees I planted two years ago. Sincerely confused, Charlotte Lottier. You want some runners but they can produce so many the bed gets overrun and a tangled mess. The bright green and bronze colored Japanese beetle feeds on the leaves of blueberry plants, which can make them susceptible to winter injury.
In the late fall and winter, rabbits and deer enjoy nibbling on the stems of blueberry bushes. This may drastically stunt the plant. Protect plants by surrounding them with chicken wire or similar fencing in the fall and winter. Careful pruning will help prevent disease infection. Prune out and dispose of any part of the plant that is dead or dying.
For more information on disease and insect pests, see Pest management for home blueberry plants , Viruses of backyard fruit and Blueberry witches' broom. Examine the plants for cankers that first appear as small, discolored areas on the stems. As the affected areas enlarge, the margins remain reddish and the bark in the central part turns gray and then brown.
In the first two years, remove flowers in the spring to encourage plant growth. This is necessary to ensure healthy, productive plants for years to come. Production of flowers and fruits stunts growth when plants are too small or weak. A good-sized, healthy canopy is needed to support the fruit.
Blueberry plants grow slowly, which is one reason they live so long. The plants will put on plenty of fruit after the first few years, but don't be surprised if the plants stay small, as mature size is usually not reached until the plants are 8 to 10 years old. Remove weeds regularly to keep your planting neat and clean and to prevent competition for water and nutrients.
Mulch helps prevent weeds. Blueberry plants in soil with a pH above 5. Spraying plants with a foliar chelated iron fertilizer, or spraying new leaves as they emerge, will temporarily green up the leaves, but it will not improve plant health in the long term. Soil pH is easiest to amend with sulfur a year before the blueberries are planted. Do not plant blueberries until the soil is at the correct pH 4. Test and monitor soil pH to stay ahead of this problem. Simple and inexpensive soil pH test kits are available online and at many garden centers.
At planting, prune only to remove any broken, dead or dying parts of branches. After the first year, prune the bushes annually in the early spring before growth starts. Fruit is produced on one-year-old wood. The largest berries are produced on the healthiest wood, so a good supply of strong, one-year-old wood is desirable.
Berries will turn from green to blue and are ready for harvest when they're completely blue and are springy when gently squeezed. Place berries in a firm container in the refrigerator shortly after picking. Avoid layering berries more than a couple inches deep to prevent the lower berries from being damaged. Do not wash berries until ready to eat. This will prevent them from molding in storage.
Blueberries last longer in the refrigerator than many other berries. Generally, plan to use the berries within a week or so. Chalker-Scott, Linda. Coffee grounds— will they perk up plants?
Mazerolle, Marc J. Strik, B. Growing Blueberries in Your Home Garden. Oregon State University Extension Service. EC Revised March Pest management for home blueberry plants. University of Minnesota Extension. Emily S. Tepe, horticultural science researcher; Emily E. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
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