Blueberry bush how long

The most frequently grown blueberry variety is the highbush variety. Wherever you live in the West, you can find a highbush blueberry hybrid that will do very well in your area. Whatever type of blueberry you want to grow, follow the instructions below for success:.

Rather than buying blueberry seeds or seedlings, you should buy 1 or 2-year-old blueberry plants. This is because it takes much longer for seeds or seedlings to mature. Make sure you buy your bushes from a reputable nursery to get quality bushes. According to experts, the best time to plant young blueberry plants is early in spring.

If you do this, when they eventually get established or matured, their fruits will be ready for picking from late May or early June. In contrast, if you plant your blueberry plants late in the season, their fruits will not be ready for picking early enough when they mature. So you will end up harvesting fewer fruits in the first season. Blueberries can live under trees with open canopies. However, they love living in the sun more. This is because they thrive when exposed to direct sunlight.

The best way to expose your blueberry bushes to direct sunlight is to plant them in a patch somewhere in your garden away from trees. Doing so will make sure they receive direct sunlight and will make the bushes protect each other from strong winds. It will also make your blueberries produce quality fruits.

If you do not want to plant your blueberries in a patch, you should plant them along your wall or wooden fence. This is because either structure will protect them from strong winds but will not block the sun from getting to them. Planting your berries away from trees is important because trees block sunlight and absorb too much water. Once you find a spot or spots, you should dig holes 15 to 20 inches deep and about the same width. The distance between the bushes should be at least four feet whether you are planting them in a patch or a row.

Once you find a good spot to plant your blueberry bushes in a patch or multiple spots to plant them along a wall, you should dig multiple holes around the spot or along the wall as explained in the step above, and then mix organic matter into the soil in the holes. The organic matter will help the soil to hold water which your bushes will need and will provide your bushes with the nutrients they need to grow into strong and productive bushes.

If you can get a loamy or clayey soil, you should mix it into the holes too before setting your berry bushes in the holes and packing them tightly with the soil you dug out. The most commonly planted blueberry is the highbush. Most blueberry breeding has focused on this species, so there are many varieties that range widely in cold hardiness and fruit season, size, and flavor.

Read more about blueberry varieties below. In fact, blueberries grown in containers are easier to protect from birds and other critters, more disease resistant, easy to harvest, and easy to move if needed.

Plus, if you live in an area without acidic soil, growing blueberries in containers allows you to tailor the soil pH specifically for them. Blueberries are partially self-fertile, so you will harvest more and larger berries by planting two or more varieties together.

Planting more than one variety can also extend the harvest season. Highbush Vaccinium corymbosum : A six-foot shrub hardy from Zone 4 to Zone 7. Lowbush Vaccinium angustifolium : For the coldest climates, lowbush varieties are your best bet, hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 7.

Half-High : Breeders have combined qualities of highbush and lowbush blueberries into hybrids known as half-high blueberries. Visit our recipe archives to find delicious blueberry recipes ranging from salads to desserts! I received a nice looking plant today, Blueberry 'Pink Icing'. I am now wondering if I should wait until fall to set it in a place, or even a container to have it for next spring.

I live in zone 5 western part of Nebraska. I watched your video "how to plant blueberries" what get me lots of info. Thank you, but I would like to know how to plant them and get them ready here in Ottawa, Canada where the winters can be really cold.

Do I need them to cover for winter and with what? Please let me know as much info as you can to protect " my gift" I've got them from my kids and we even have some blueberries for our grand kids when the blueberries were still in original pots what they were both in. I never had experience how to take care of blueberries, but I'm writing you this because some people told me that here in Ottawa cold winters they will not survive and we would not have any blueberries next year.

Thanks for help and I'm still positive and optimistic that I can still next year let my grandkids pick up some blueberries, because we were enjoying their happiness when they pick them up and enjoyed eating them. Thank you again :. Bare-root shrubs are best planted in the spring but container-grown ones can be planted at any time. Blueberries should be fertilized sparingly in the spring, once the leaf buds begin to swell and again when the fruit starts to form.

Soil is the key to success with any plant. Have yours tested and see what nutrients it lacks and what the pH is. Blueberries need acidic soil to grow and produce well. If the pH is too high the leaves will be yellow and the plants will struggle to grow.

A site with full sun is best. They are very sensitive to drying out so they need plenty of water, especially in the early years. Mulching with wood chips or pine needles will help protect the roots and conserve moisture. It takes a few years for the plants to become established and begin to pump out the berries so after you have made any necessary soil corrections be patient. Eventually you should start to get the berries you are eagerly looking forward to!

How do I overwinter my blueberry plants? Because containers do not provide adequate insulation from the cold, be sure to protect container-grown blueberries during the winter to prevent root damage. In mid- to late October, bury containers in the ground at a site where snow is likely to accumulate and where plants will be protected from cold winter winds. Mulch the soil surface with four to eight inches of straw in mid-November or cover the bushes with burlap.

Prevent rabbit damage by placing chicken wire fencing or hardware cloth around the bushes. During early to mid-spring, remove containers from the ground and place them in full sun. Alternatively, containers can be left buried in the soil as long as the containers have proper drainage holes and the site where the containers are buried is well drained and exposed to full sun.

You will notice some redundancy amidst the info; the bottom line—we think—is to protect the plants in a garage or basement until spring. Please take the time to read and note the advice these sources offer. And good luck! I moved into my home about a year ago. While outside yesterday, I found a few blueberry bushes with soon to ripen berries. They are in the yard near the edge of our woods. They are small but given that the previous owners lived here for 11 years, I do not think they are young.

What can I do to cultivate them in hopes of making them healthy and fruitful in the future? The best advice we have in above. Read it all, but especially how to care. And peruse thee Qs and As below. Good luck! I was able to pick ripe blueberries for 2 weeks. Now there are many berries but they are not ripening.

The temp has been in the 90's. Food and water are not on the menu here; scientists are learning that high temps such as you describe can affect pollen development and pollination. We just bought our home in December of and we have an amazing backyard full of flowers, a nice small pond, walkways.. Amid all the greenery and flowers, we have a tree and 2 of the same in the front.

We were told they are Blueberry trees, which I have never heard of. However, the berries came in and we were told that they are ready to pick when the are easily removed from the stem. They are not a typical "blue", but a deep maroon color. Are these indeed blueberries, maybe a different variety? I know our bluebirds are loving them!!

We did harvest them and they have exceptional flavor. Any info I could have would be great!! It could be that you do have a type of highbush blueberry, as they can get quite tall and tree like.

However, the description also sounds like deerberry, which have berries that are more red than your usual blueberry. They also have reddish flesh, rather than the pale flesh of a typical blueberry. The area at the top of the blueberry fruit. Mine are new. A few weeks old and seem to look rusty inside of the crown area. Is that a bad sign? Blueberries are not just a northern crop anymore.

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. Home Yard and garden Find plants Fruit Growing blueberries in the home garden. Quick facts about growing blueberries Blueberries need full sun.

Blueberries require acidic soil. Plant two or more varieties for successful pollination. Plants won't have much fruit the first 2 to 3 years. Harvest is bigger after 5 years. Blueberry plants grow slowly and reach full size in 8 to 10 years. Each winter, prune out old, weak and dead wood. Preparing to plant Blueberry plants require acidic soil pH 4. If pH is too high: Growth of the plant is slowed. Leaves discolor. Plants may die. Open all Close all. Soil testing, fertilizer and mulch.

Selecting plants Blueberry plants are widely available at local and online nurseries. If buying plants locally, find potted plants that are at least two or three years old. Caring for blueberry plants before planting.