How to Grow Blueberries

Along with lip-smacking sweetness, flower and foliageAll types of blueberries grow best in full sun. Plants
are also worthy reasons to grow blueberries. White,tolerate partial shade, but production declines as
bell-shaped blossoms make a lovely addition to ashade increases. Blueberries are shallow rooted and
spring garden and fiery scarlet foliage adds drama topoor competitors against large rooted trees, shrubs,
a fading autumn landscape. In addition to taste andand weeds that compete for water, nutrients, and
appearance, blueberries are ripe with medicalcrowd airways necessary to good blueberry
advantages; they help lower cholesterol and studiesproduction.
suggest that blueberries also reduce the risk of someThe most important element is growing blueberries is
cancers.soil composition. To make the most of your
Types of Blueberriesblueberry planting, begin necessary soil amendments
1. Highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) arethe year before planting. Blueberries grow best in
those usually found in the produce department ofloose, sandy loam. Although you may run across wild
your grocery. As you might expect, they are namedblueberries growing in a bog, on closer inspection you'll
because the bushes grow to 6-feet in height. Fruitssee that plants grow on small, natural hills.
are large, from ½ to an inch in diameter.Blueberries need moisture retentive, well-drained,
Depending on variety, highbush blueberries are hardyhumus-rich soil with good aeration. Soil acidity is also
from Zones 4 through 11.very important in growing blueberries. Plants need a
2. Lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium)pH of 4.0 to no more than 5.0 to thrive. Initially, bring
generally reach no more than 18-inches in height.the pH down to acceptable levels with sulphur or 4
Propagated from shoots spread through undergroundto 6 inches of acid peat mixed into the first 6 to 8
runners, lowbush blueberries form low mats of plantsinches of topsoil. Also, enrich soil with good organic
that produce best on a two-year cycle. The firstcompost.
year is the growth year and the second year is thePlanting blueberries
fruiting year. The sweet, quarter-inch fruits ofAlthough most blueberries self-pollinate, plant two or
lowbush blueberries commonly are known as Wildmore varieties within a type for a larger harvest of
Blueberries and are hardy in Zones 3 through 6.more voluptuous fruits. Five plants provide enough
3. Half-high blueberries (V. corymbosum x V.blueberries for fresh eating, drying, and preserving
angustifolium) are a hybrid between lowbush andfor a family of four.
highbush cultivars. Although shorter than high-bushPlant blueberries in spring after all danger of frost
blueberries, half-high grow in much the same way aspasses. When growing several plants, you may find it
their taller relatives. Taste and size meet halfwayeasier to prepare a bed rather than digging holes for
between highbush and lowbush. An extra advantageindividual plants. Add a generous portion of peat moss
for the northern grower is that half-high blueberriesto your trench or hole both to increase the organic
were especially bred to withstand the heavycontent and to ensure continued soil acidity.
snowfalls and cold winters of inland North AmericaStandard spacing for highbush, half-high, and
and are hardy to Zone 3.rabbiteye bushes is five to six feet apart in rows
4. Rabbiteye blueberries (Vaccinium ashei), native toeight to ten feet distant. Dig holes or make your row
the Southeastern United States, are the tallest ofthree to four inches deeper than the size of the root
the blueberry bushes, reaching up to 10-feet in height.balls. Pack soil firmly around the roots of each plant.
Because of their thick skins, rabbiteye blueberries arePlant lowbush varieties one to three feet apart in
able to withstand southern heat in zones sevenrows three to four feet distant. Cover about a third
through nine.of the top stems with soil to encourage runners to
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