- What is important to consider when planting blueberries?
- Where can you plant blueberries?
- Is it still possible to transplant larger blueberry bushes?
- How can you propagate blueberries yourself?
- What is the best time of year to plant blueberries?
- When do blueberries bloom and when are their fruits ready for harvest?
- What should be considered when preparing the soil for blueberries?
- At what distance should you plant blueberries?
- tips and tricks
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It used to be part of the midsummer walks in the forest to collect fresh and aromatic forest blueberries for eating fresh or for preserving. Nowadays, large fruits can be easily harvested from cultivated blueberries in the garden.
What is important to consider when planting blueberries?
When planting all types of blueberries, it is important that they originally come from boggy areas with loose soil and an acidic pH value of between 4.0 and 5.0. Since most gardens in this country have different pH values and often also loamy or very calcareous soil, the soil substrate usually has to be replaced at the planned location first. Since blueberries root more broadly and shallowly than deep, the planting hole should be dug accordingly and filled with acidic soil.
Where can you plant blueberries?
The wild blueberry Vaccinium myrtillus, which can also be found in the forest in this country, usually does not tolerate a location in full sun. You should therefore plant these relatively small and low-yielding blueberries in partial shade. On the other hand, you can also grow the following cultivated blueberries in full sun to harvest large and sweet fruits:
- Vaccine Pilot
- Vaccinium Bluecrop
- Vaccinium Earlyblue
In addition to the acidic pH value in relation to the soil, it is also important that it should be loose and permeable. Although cultivated blueberries need an adequate water supply before the harvest season, their roots do not like waterlogging at all.
Is it still possible to transplant larger blueberry bushes?
A cultivated blueberry bush planted in the garden at a height of around 30 cm can, with good care, have reached a height of up to 2 meters after around 3 to 4 years. With this type of plant, too, transplanting becomes more difficult with increasing size. Nevertheless, there are good conditions in autumn and, if necessary, also in early spring to carefully venture into planting in a new location. The shallow roots should be cut out with the largest possible diameter and the bush cut back a little to compensate for the initially reduced root activity. If you plant blueberries, you should always water them a little after planting.
How can you propagate blueberries yourself?
Forest blueberries often multiply relatively strongly via root suckers. This is less the case with cultivated blueberries, but they can also be propagated relatively easily via cuttings and layering. To do this, cuttings are placed in an acidic growing substrate or branches that are still on the bush near the ground are weighed down for several months and piled up with some soil.
What is the best time of year to plant blueberries?
The wild and cultivated blueberry varieties all perform best when planted in the fall. If necessary, cultivation is also possible in early spring before the leaves sprout in frost-free weather.
When do blueberries bloom and when are their fruits ready for harvest?
Blueberries always lay their flowers on the leaf buds in the previous year, and in Central Europe the visible flowering phase usually occurs in the first two weeks of May. The fruits can be harvested from the beginning of July at the earliest and sometimes into September.
What should be considered when preparing the soil for blueberries?
If you have very loamy or calcareous soil in your garden, you must replace the soil at the planned location for the blueberries about 50 cm deep. Ideally, you should use special soil for rhododendrons or azaleas to fill up the planting hole. If, for ecological reasons, you want to do without peaty soil from the garden trade, you can also “acidify” soil that is low in lime by adding bark mulch and pine needle compost. You should also make sure that the soil is loose, as all blueberry varieties tend to show signs of deficiency when they are heavily waterlogged.
At what distance should you plant blueberries?
The distances to be maintained when planting depend to a large extent on the choice of plants. Due to their small height and width, wild blueberry varieties such as Vaccinium myrtillus do not need a particularly pronounced planting distance from each other, especially since in nature they often overgrow entire clearings like ground cover. When it comes to cultivated blueberries, there are also small varieties for pots that only need about 50 cm of space on each side, even outdoors. However, most cultivated blueberry varieties grow up to 2.5 m high and almost 2 m wide. Therefore, when planting in a row, the planting distance should not be less than 1.5 m. The rows should be about 2.5 m apart so that you can still walk through them comfortably when collecting the fruit.
tips and tricks
In the case of cultivated blueberries, regular fertilization is also recommended for a correspondingly high yield. However, this should definitely be carried out with a suitable fertilizer without lime content. In addition, products designed for flowering plants should be checked to see whether they are also approved for growing fruit plants.