Blueberries are very satisfying and easy to grow.
They can cost a pretty hefty amount at the store and are really easy to grow here in the mid-Atlantic area of the US.
Blueberries are native here, so even if you choose to grow cultivar varieties which produce larger fruit like I do, you can be assured they like this climate.
Blueberries are beautiful in the landscape, having white or pink flowers in spring and bright red, yellow or bronze foliage in autumn.
There are two types of blueberries: high bush & low bush. Low bush are generally grown in northern climates like Maine and Canada. High bush are generally grown further south and the ones mostly grown in Virginia gardens.
A question I am often asked is: Should I buy them in a container or bare root?
Either is fine.
It is best to only have bare root plants shipped vs. container grown because shipping container grown plants is pricey.
Bare root plants are grown in the nursery for a few years (a good company will tell you how old the plants will be that you are ordering) dug up in the dormant months, kept cool and shipped in spring.
Container grown plants would be obtained locally.
Currently, we do not have a good source of container grown blueberries locally. The nursery we liked is going out of business because the owners are retiring. Many local nurseries sell blueberry bushes for short, limited time in early spring. Be sure and ask them if their plants are sprayed with
loads of chemicals that could kill your pollinators, including the neonicotinoids that have been so much in the news lately.
To get a great selection, we recommend ordering bare root from RainTree Nursery. They sell 2-to-3 year old blueberry plants that are good sized, at least 18” tall and bushy.
When buying blueberry plants, be sure to buy at least two varieties for pollination. Also check the ripening dates, choosing two bushes each of three varieties can extend your harvest and give you a very healthy crop.
Popular varieties include the old time ‘Jersey’, which has bright yellow leaves in autumn and ‘Bluecrop’ which has red fall color. Another yellow fall colored variety is ‘Bluegold’, which is popular with smaller space gardeners because the bushes are more compact at 4’ high. Most highbush blueberries are 6’ high. ‘Bluegold’ and ‘Earliblue’ can start your blueberry season off, then follow on with ‘Blueray’ for mid season and ‘Elliot’ or ‘Libery’ for late season fruit. We also really like ‘Patriot’ and ‘Northland’ as they has done very well for us.
Container gardeners might like to try the cute ‘Top Hat’ that only grows to 18”. You can choose a variety that grows to 4’ for container culture and use a larger container.
In ground, space your blueberries as far apart as their listed mature height. So, if a variety is listed as 6′ high, plant them 6′ apart, or a little farther, if you have room, for good aeration and light.
Three important notes about growing blueberries:
- Choose a sunny location. Although blueberries grow in partial shade, they need full sun to produce lots of berries.
- Plant them separate from your annual vegetable garden because they have different soil requirements. Blueberries want acidic soil, unlike your annual veggies. A good mulch for blueberries is pine needles.
- Plant your blueberries where they will naturally get plenty of water because they are shallow rooted plants. You can dig swales to capture water for your blueberries in heavy rains.
One last note, invest in a few post and bird netting so you get your crop instead of the birds.
Hope this inspires you to try growing some blueberries at home, whether you want to eat them fresh or make summer blueberry ice cream, they are an easy and satisfying perennial crop to grow.
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