How to Grow Blueberries: A Detailed Guide to Planting Techniques and Care Methods

The blueberry is a fruit we are all fairly familiar with, but in daily life it is a fruit that is eaten very rarely; what people are more familiar with eating is probably blueberry jam. In fact, blueberries taste sweet and sour and are rich in nutrients, making them an excellent fruit for health and wellness. So how are blueberries grown?

How to Grow Blueberries

1. When buying blueberry seedlings, it is best to choose small 2-3 year old plants. Small seedlings are cheaper and more adaptable, making them very easy to grow successfully.

2. For the flower pot used to grow blueberries, it is best to choose a clay pot. Clay pots have strong breathability and are cheap; the drawback is that their dark gray color is not very attractive. If you cannot buy a clay pot, you can choose a ceramic pot, followed by a purple clay pot or a plastic pot; never use a glazed porcelain pot. As for the size of the pot, for a 2-3 year old seedling, a pot with a diameter of 25-30 cm is fine; avoid a small seedling in a large pot. Once it grows larger, repot it into a bigger pot. For a mature 4-5 year old plant, of course, the bigger the better.

3. Blueberries can only grow healthily in an acidic medium; a pH of 4-5 in the growing soil is most suitable for blueberry growth. This problem troubles many blueberry enthusiasts, because garden soil generally has a pH between 6-7, and even the acidic soil sold at flower and bird markets has a pH of at least 5.5-6. After the blueberry seedling is planted in the pot, place it indoors in a ventilated spot out of the sun for one week; this process is called acclimatization. After one week it can be moved outside to the balcony for normal care.

4. Blueberries like moisture, especially in summer, when they need plenty of water every day. But note that water must not accumulate, otherwise the roots will rot. On rainy days in Shanghai, blueberries do not need to be brought indoors; no matter how heavy the rain, as long as the pot drains well there is no problem. You will find that during the growing season, after several consecutive days of rain, the blueberry leaves are emerald green and glossy, full of vitality, and new leaves also sprout very quickly.

5. Blueberries like sunlight; even sun at 40 degree temperatures in summer will not kill them, and during the growing season they can tolerate high temperatures of 40°C-50°C in the surrounding environment, as long as they are given plenty of water in the morning. If they lack sufficient sunlight, blueberry growth stalls, and even if they flower, they will not bear fruit.

6. Blueberries do not have high fertilizer requirements; too much fertilizer will actually harm them. A certain amount of leaf mold in the medium can basically meet the growth needs of blueberries. Of course, if you want to eat blueberries you grow yourself, you still need to apply appropriate supplementary fertilizer normally. It is recommended to apply “Huaduoduo”, 1 gram diluted in 1000 grams of water, once every 7-10 days. This fertilizer is relatively mild, so even if overdosed it will not burn the roots.

Growing Blueberries in Pots

1. Avoid fruit seedlings from a certain place and choose good quality varieties. You must distinguish the small seedlings well; buying high quality seedlings is the key. The fear is buying fake seedlings, or poor quality ones that after a year of growing neither flower nor fruit, or inferior small seedlings that bear only a few berries.

2. Moreover, you must distinguish clearly; just because a seedling looks tall in a picture does not mean it is a three year old seedling. You should also check whether the fruit seedling has been pruned and whether it is growing robustly. You should also understand a little pruning technique yourself. When pruning blueberry branches, be careful to cut off the thin, weak, diseased and damaged branches, and it is better to keep the vigorous water sprouts.

3. For growing blueberries, soil is the most important thing, extremely critical; choose nutrient-rich humus soil, soft and breathable organic soil. Do not choose soil that is too compacted. Also, when watering normally, do not water too frequently, and do not let the humidity in the pot get too high.

4. Next is fertilizing. When fertilizing, it is recommended to use organic fertilizers, such as chicken manure or decomposed cake fertilizer. If using a compound fertilizer, use just a few granules at a time; do not place them too close to the roots, just put them at the edge of the pot.

5. If it is a non-cold-hardy variety, remember to spread something around the pot in winter or cover it with straw. It can also be placed on a sunny balcony; in the central China region where the editor is located, it can be placed directly on an open balcony and still overwinter successfully.

How to Care for Blueberries

1. Water 3 to 5 cm per week. Be careful not to water too much.

2. Prune once every winter. In the first winter, cut off all the flower buds, so that the plant can be more vigorous before it starts fruiting. Also prune off branches that have stopped growing, so that the fruiting parts grow better.

3. In each year after that, cut off the branches that grow too slowly, cutting from the node. Also cut off all dead branches and small twigs, as well as discolored and spotted parts.

4. For lowbush varieties, prune off all the stems. Pruned plants will not fruit the next season, so it is best to cut only half at a time.

5. Pruning branches can increase the growth rate by about 1/3 to 1/2. Try to cut off side branches.

6. Fertilize the blueberries. If your blueberries grow less than 30 cm per year (or less than 10 cm for lowbush varieties), you can consider using natural fertilizer to speed up their growth. If possible, use organic fertilizer, which will not harm the roots and can provide the nitrogen blueberries need.

7. Harvest in late July or early August. For some varieties, including rabbiteye, ripening is later. The ripening time each year varies slightly with climate change.

Harvesting Blueberries

Rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberries do not ripen uniformly; harvesting generally lasts 20-30 days, usually once a week. For fresh eating, the fruit must be picked by hand; for processing, mechanical harvesting can be used. Diseases that affect blueberries include fungal diseases, bacterial diseases and nematodes. China is a newly introduced cultivation area, where pests and diseases occur relatively little.

Blueberries have a unique flavor, sweet with a faint hint of sourness, especially delicious, and are the favorite of many food lovers. Moreover, blueberries can not only be eaten directly, but can also be made into all kinds of delicious and beautiful desserts and drinks. Seen this way, the prospects for growing blueberries are broad!