Planting blueberries in flower beds and pots

Blueberries require little care, can even be grown in pots, and provide plenty of healthy fruit. In fact, they are one of the foods with the highest concentration of antioxidants that exist. It is best to plant the bushes in spring and make sure they are in a bright place and in the right soil.

Since blueberries belong to the heather family, they need an acidic, humus-rich garden soil. With the following tips, planting is guaranteed to be successful.

Blueberries are among the most popular berries. They contain many healthy vitamins and minerals. However, picking blueberries in the woods quickly leads to frustration, because wild varieties are so small and hard to find.

Instead of searching you can plant varieties adapted to cultivation in your garden or terrace and expect very abundant and tasty harvests.

What varieties of blueberries are there for the garden?

Any cultivated blueberry variety is ideal for the garden. These include, among many other varieties:

BluecropBlue DessertEarlyblueDukeAmaPatriot

The last variety, Patriot, is especially suitable if you want to plant blueberries in pots, since it is smaller than the others. It is a good idea choose two or more varieties to plant together. This not only increases yield but can also extend harvest time with the right choice of variety.

Like the wild blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), the cultivated blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) also belongs to the heather family (Ericaceae). However, the berries differ greatly from one another.

The Cultivated Blueberry it is larger and has a lighter colored flesh, while the forest blueberry is dark blue in color and much smaller. The flavor of the cultivated blueberry is also superior to that of the wild variety.

When and where to plant blueberries

Blueberries can be planted both in spring and autumn but in spring the supply of plants in nurseries and garden centers is greater.

Blueberries in the garden or on the balcony they are easy to care for, require little fertilizer, and love slightly acidic soil. You can put them in a bed or in a large pot. The only important thing is the correct location and proper soil conditions.

the right location

Whether in a bed or in a pot, blueberries like the sun. It is best to choose a location that receives good sun exposure but is not exposed to direct midday sunlight.

The plant also tolerates partial shade well, at least most varieties and their wild relatives that grow in sparse woodland. However, in the shade the fruit becomes less sweet.

the little bushes they grow well near fruit trees or along a wooden garden fence. But the blueberry also looks great among a flower bed, because practically all cultivated blueberries impress with their beautiful autumn colours.

What soil do blueberries need?

Whether your blueberries thrive depends on the right soil. An acid soil is important. The easiest way is to use rhododendron soil, as the needs of the two plants are very similar. Rhododendron soil is sold at many garden centers.

Alternatively, you can add to the plant a little pine or fir bark compost in the soil. If the soil in your garden is clayey, you should make a hole and fill it with the soil with a mixture of bark (or leaves) and sand compost.

Planting blueberries: step by step instructions

1. Dig the planting hole

If you are planting blueberries, the planting hole should not be too deep. A depth of approximately 40 cm is sufficient. Blueberries have shallow roots, so you want to dig them wide rather than deep. Make the hole about twice as wide as it is deep.

Once the hole is made, you can fill it with approximately a span of acid rhododendron soil or with bark compost as described above.

2. Insert the cranberry

Take the blueberries out of the pot and plant them so that they protrude about 5 cm from the root. Now spread bark mulch generously over the soil and completely cover the bed with it.

The bark mulch layer around blueberries it can be between 10 and 15 centimeters high. This is how you protect the plant from uncontrolled growth.

3. Water the blueberries

Finally, you should water the newly planted blueberries, preferably with lime-free rainwater. Be sure to keep the litter moist at all times.

4. Keep your distance from the next plant

When planting the next bush, pay attention to the correct distance. You should plant the individual blueberry bushes about 70cm apart.

The same procedure applies when planting in a large pot.

Blueberry Care

Blueberries do not require great care. If you planted the bush in spring, it is advisable to remove the flowers in the first year, so you’ll have to do without the berries that year, but the plant grows better and doesn’t put all its energy into the fruit.

Fertilize and water the blueberries

You can fertilize blueberries in spring when they sprout and in early summer when the fruits are forming. This is not absolutely necessary, but cultivated blueberries are significantly more productive with an addition of nutrients.

to fertilize it, give the plants horn meal or rock meal in spring and a liquid fertilizer for berries or rhododendrons in summer.

Blueberries do not tolerate a lot of lime, so you should avoid watering them with very hard and calcareous tap water. It is better to water them regularly with rainwater. Although they don’t like very wet soil, they do appreciate some moisture.

prune blueberries

In the first five years, blueberries do not need to be pruned. After that, it makes sense to prune them once every two to three years to increase the yield of the plant and keep it in shape.

The best time to cut blueberries is in the fall between October and November or in the spring (before March). When it comes to cutting, less is more. Do not radically cut the blueberry. You should regularly remove diseased or gnarled branches with pruning shears.

It is optimal when the blueberry has six to eight main branches and some younger shoots. When cutting, remove any old shoots (three years or older), which you can usually recognize by their gray-brown, slightly cracked bark. That will leave room for new shoots, which in turn will bear more and juicier fruit.

To ensure that enough light penetrates the bush, you should also cut the shoots that grow inward or compete for space with other branches near the base.