How to grow... Blueberries
Rocket Growing Guides
If they are delivered between spring and autumn, your blueberry plants will arrive in biodegradable fibre pots. You can plant them on in its pot, or if you prefer you can peel the pot off (and pop it in the compost.) Make sure the plant is well watered before you plant it.
- Blueberries Growing Guide
How to Plant Blueberries
- These bushes do best in moist, well-drained, acidic soil (a pH of 4.0-5.5 is ideal). If growing in pots, use and ericaceous compost.
- Site blueberries in the sun or partial shade.
- Plant 1m apart in beds or in separate large pots, as soon as possible after receiving them.
- Unless you have chosen a self-fertile variety, blueberry bushes are best planted in pairs to improve cross-pollination.
How to Grow Blueberries
- Keep the soil moist throughout the first growing season. In later years, water thoroughly on a weekly basis during prolonged dry spells.
- Keep them weed-free and apply an annual mulch of ericaceous compost.
- Prune from year two onwards each winter by removing a fifth of your blueberry bush, cutting back to strong new growth, and taking off any new branches that are likely to touch the ground under the weight of the crop.
How to Harvest Blueberries
- You should be able to harvest from July through to August by picking off the berries.
- Your crop in year 1 may be quite sparse, but once the plant is a little more mature you should get a better yield.
- Poor pollination can be a problem, even with the self-fertile varieties as they flower when there aren’t many bees around. If this is the case, you may find it beneficial to grow another 1 or 2 blueberry plants alongside what you already have.
