Fresh-picked blueberries are a summertime treat that are easy and fun to grow for home gardeners. The fruit is borne on shrubs that open beautiful white flowers in spring, and its foliage turns brilliant gold-red in the fall. The flowers attract bees and other pollinators, which helps your other garden plants produce a bigger harvest. The juicy fruit has a sweet-tart taste and a rich supply of nutrients, especially antioxidants that are vital to your immune system.
We’ve put together this simple guide to help you get started on your own crop of delicious blueberries.
Soil Specs
Blueberries have two basic requirements for maintaining healthy growth. First, the soil must drain well. The shrubs will suffer from root rot and other fungal diseases if they are planted where the soil stays soggy for days after a rainstorm. Second, blueberries need acidic soil, with an ideal pH of 5.0. You can test the pH with the simple-to-use Burpee Deluxe Garden Soil Testing Kit.
Blueberry bushes benefit from mixing organic matter such as compost or leaf mold into the soil when planting, as well as an annual side-dressing to keep the plants well-nourished.
You can help ensure good drainage and room for the roots to spread out by setting the plants in hills that are 12 to 18 inches above the soil level. Also, leave about three feet between each plant to allow healthy airflow that reduces the risk of fungal diseases.
Adjusting Soil Ph
If a soil test shows the pH is too high, you can adjust it using safe, organic amendments. Simply mix horticultural sulfur (or elemental sulfur) and a bucket of peat moss into each planting hole.
These measures gradually reduce the soil’s pH, typically about 0.5 points per year. Be sure to follow application instructions carefully. Excessive use of sulfur can be harmful to the essential microbes in the soil that keep your plants healthy.
Light Requirments
For maximum fruit production, plant your blueberries in a spot that receives full sun for at least six hours a day from spring through fall—ideally, the exposure should be during the morning to early afternoon. While blueberries can tolerate some late-afternoon shade, too little sunlight can result in healthy-looking plants that produce little to no berries.
Planting Blueberry Bushes
When, you’ve chosen a sunny, well-drained spot for your blueberries and prepared the soil, it’s time to dig the planting holes. Make each hole twice as wide as the root ball and deep enough so the bushes sit at the same level as they did in their nursery pots.
Backfill the holes with finished compost (homemade or bagged) mixed with 10 percent peat moss. Water thoroughly to help the soil settle around the roots and continue to keep the area consistently moist—but not soggy—for the first couple of months after planting.
To get the most from future harvests, plant at least two compatible cultivars that bloom at the same time. This will encourage cross-pollination, which can lead to larger berries, increased yields, and a longer harvest season. In addition, remove any blossoms that appear in the first season. As tempting as it may be to let the plants fruit, doing so will allow them to focus their energy on developing strong roots, setting them up for healthier growth and better yields in the years ahead.
How to Grow Blueberries
Establishment and Pruning
The right care for your new blueberries depends on the type you’ve planted. All varieties should be left to grow freely, without pruning, during their first two seasons.
Beginning in year three, plan to prune the shrubs in late winter, shortly before the buds begin to plump up and start growing. Remove any branches and twigs that are growing toward the center of the bush rather than outward. This allows air to circulate through the plant, keeping it healthy and free of fungal diseases. Also trim off damaged or broken branches. After fruiting, cut all stems to ground level and they will regrow the following season. The pruned shrubs take a year to begin producing again, so try to prune half of your blueberry plants every other year, so you always have some that are bearing fruit.
Watering Requirments
Compared to fruit trees and other berries, the roots of blueberries are relatively shallow. That makes them vulnerable to dehydration when the uppermost layers of the soil dry out. If that happens, give the soil around your blueberries a thorough soaking. Deep watering rather than frequent sprinkling gives the roots a steady supply of moisture and helps to build their resilience.
Fertilizing
Healthy soil supplies much of the nutrients that plants need and annual applications of compost add to that. Blueberries may need supplemental fertilizer to reach their potential. Without sufficient nitrogen, blueberry leaves may be stunted or appear to be yellowing.
Look for a balanced organic fertilizer formulated for plants that need acidic soil, such as Burpee Natural Organic Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron Plant Food, which supplies phosphorus and potassium as well as nitrogen. For a quick nitrogen boost, soybean meal and fish meal are organic sources that work well for blueberries.
Apply fertilizers in early spring, as the plants begin to break dormancy. Spread it evenly around the plant to ensure even growth and prevent burning of roots. Be sure to follow the application directions. Overfeeding your plants doesn’t make them grow faster and leaves them vulnerable to problems.
Blueberries will live and produce for 40 to 50 years. Attending to their ideal location and conditions at planting will guarantee you delicious fruit for many years. This makes learning how to grow blueberries a valuable skill that may yield bountiful harvests for decades to come.
Blueberries will only grow well in soils that meet their needs:
•Soil must drain well. If water stands in the location you are planting for 2 days, don’t plant a blueberry.
• Blueberries grow best in acidic soils with a pH of 5.0
• Incorporating rich organic matter into the soil or as a top dress is ideal.
• If planting a row of blueberries (space plants 4-8 feet apart), consider"hilling" the plants; raise them above the natural soil level by 12-18" high and 3' wide. This improves drainage, and provides a row for constantly adding organic matter.
Blueberry plants need full sun:
Once you have your location selected, make sure that the location will get full sun, at least ¾ of the day. Blueberries will tolerate partial shade, especially late in the day.
Blueberries will grow in higher pH, but to achieve highest production, you will need to amend the soil around the plants. This can be done easily over time. Don’t try and reduce the pH all at once; a .5 per year reduction is ideal. Lower your pH by using the following:
• Sawdust from any conifer (pine, spruce, fir). If you use sawdust, pay attention to Nitrogen; if leaves are yellowing, that indicates a Nitrogen deficiency.
• Ammonium Sulfate fertilizer
• Ground Sulfur fertilizer
How to Plant Blueberry Plants
Plant blueberries at exactly the same depth as grown at the nursery. Dig the hole twice the size of the roots, and back-fill with a rich compost mixture. If compost is not available, use the finest bark mulch you can find, and add 10% peat moss. Once planted, continue to add fresh compost as a top-dressing to build up your organic matter. Once planted, remove 25% of the branches; this will promote new, vigorous branching, and the 25% you removed will be replaced quickly.
During the first year, the plants are getting established, and you will not need to prune until year 3, after they have finished fruiting. Pruning is done well when you open up the inside of the plant and remove the oldest, darkest branches.
Blueberries, because they are shallow-rooted, do require more water than most fruits so the surface roots do not dry out. Blueberries respond best to quality (deep) watering rather than keeping the surface moist. Water will move to the surface.
Fertilize in early spring, as leaves are breaking from dormancy. A soil test is best, but a 10-5-5 is a good, well-balanced fertilizer. A second fertilizer application after pruning will provide the nutrition needed for the new growth to break from the pruned branches.
How to Grow Blueberry Plants
Establishment and Pruning
The right care for your new blueberries depends on the type you’ve planted. All varieties should be left to grow freely, without pruning, during their first two seasons.
Beginning in year three, plan to prune the shrubs in late winter, shortly before the buds begin to plump up and start growing. Remove any branches and twigs that are growing toward the center of the bush rather than outward. This allows air to circulate through the plant, keeping it healthy and free of fungal diseases. Also, trim off damaged or broken branches. After fruiting, cut all stems to ground level, and they will regrow the following season. The pruned shrubs take a year to begin producing again, so try to prune half of your blueberry plants every other year so you always have some that are bearing fruit.
Watering Requirments
Compared to fruit trees and other berries, the roots of blueberries are relatively shallow. That makes them vulnerable to dehydration when the uppermost layers of the soil dry out. If that happens, give the soil around your blueberries a thorough soaking. Deep watering rather than frequent sprinkling gives the roots a steady supply of moisture and helps to build their resilience.
Fertilizing
Healthy soil supplies much of the nutrients that plants need, and annual applications of compost add to that. Blueberries may need supplemental fertilizer to reach their potential. Without sufficient nitrogen, blueberry leaves may be stunted or appear to be yellowing.
Look for a balanced organic fertilizer formulated for plants that need acidic soil, such as Burpee Natural Organic Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron Plant Food, which supplies phosphorus and potassium as well as nitrogen. For a quick nitrogen boost, soybean meal and fish meal are organic sources that work well for blueberries.
Apply fertilizers in early spring, as the plants begin to break dormancy. Spread it evenly around the plant to ensure even growth and prevent burning of roots. Be sure to follow the application directions. Overfeeding your plants doesn’t make them grow faster and leaves them vulnerable to problems.
For more information on growing blueberries, check out our full guide here.
Enjoy the four-season taste and beauty of a blueberry plant: Spring’s flowers, Summer’s fruit, Fall’s foliage, and Winter’s colorful branches. A plant for every season!