On the plot both decorative and fruit crops are grown. Among gardeners, shrubs are popular, which give a good harvest of berries. One of these plants is garden blueberries. Of course, it requires attention to itself: you need to choose the right plant variety, devote time to caring for it, and take into account all the nuances of cultivation.
In order to collect good harvests of tasty and healthy berries, you will need to familiarize yourself with the features of planting and caring for blueberries. The intricacies of this process will be discussed in detail in our article.
general characteristics
Garden blueberry (photo of the plant is presented below) belongs to the Heather family. The birthplace of this plant is North America. Blueberries are very popular in Canada and the USA. This is a relative of the common blueberry, which is common in countries with a temperate and cold climate in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the wild, common blueberries are more common. It grows both in Iceland and in the Mediterranean. In our country, this plant is also often found, it has many names. It used to be that a berry catches up a dope and causes a hopping, as if from alcohol, it causes a headache. However, the culprit of this phenomenon is Ledum, which often grows next to blueberries in the wild.
Ordinary blueberry is a medium-sized plant. Its garden appearance is taller. The plant began to be cultivated in North America, but today varieties of garden blueberries, as well as their hybrids, are common in our country. They are grown both in the southern regions of Russia and in the climate of the middle zone.
The plant belongs to the genus Vaccinium. It also includes shrubs such as lingonberries, cranberries, blueberries. However, each of these plants has characteristic features that distinguish them from blueberries.
The bush of the garden species of blueberries reaches a height of about 2 m (ordinary wild blueberries grow to 1 m). Its berries have a pleasant sweet and sour taste, so many summer residents want to plant this particular type of plant on their site.
Gardeners reviews
If you want to grow blueberries in the garden, you need to familiarize yourself with some of the features of this plant. Experienced summer residents claim that this plant requires increased attention to itself.
The roots of the garden species of blueberries have a fibrous structure, erect branches - a cylindrical cross-sectional shape. Bark of gray or brown color. The leaves are small and hard, growing in the next order. Their surface is smooth. The leaves are up to 3 cm long. Their apex is round, resembles the shape of an inverted egg. On the surface of the leaves you can observe a wax coating, which is why they acquire a bluish tint.
During the flowering period, flowers with five serrated petals appear on the branches, which are directed to the ground. They have a pinkish or white whisk in the form of a water lily. After a flowering period, oblong-shaped berries appear. The berries of ordinary blueberry reach a length of 12 mm, their weight does not exceed 1 g. The garden variety is distinguished by larger berries weighing from 10 to 25 g. The skin on the berries is thin, covered with a bluish bloom. The pulp is colored green. From one bush collect up to 7 kg of berries.
According to reviews, garden blueberries, whose varieties were cultivated in America, do not have time to ripen in our climate. Before the onset of cold weather, you can manage to collect only 30% of the crop, so you need to carefully choose a variety of shrubs. There are early and mid-ripe varieties, it is quite suitable for growing blueberries in our latitudes.
Varietal variety
Varieties of garden blueberries are diverse, but in our country it is better to grow northern tall varieties that are highly winter hardy.
Such varieties were bred from North American species by crossing with ordinary blueberries. Varieties that can be cultivated in temperate and northern climates include the following varieties:
- Bluehold. It has an average ripening period. Resistant to cold. The berries are medium in size with a sweet and sour taste.
- Patriot. Tall variety, which is characterized by medium maturity. It reaches a height of 1.5 m. The berries are large with a thick skin. Productivity is up to 7 kg from a bush.
- Chippewa. Early ripening grade. Its height is 1 m. The berries are large, very sweet.
- Duke. Early ripe tall shrub. Grows to 2 m. The berries are medium and large.
- Northland. The bush is low (up to 1 m). It gives a good harvest of berries with a pleasant taste. They manage to ripen completely before the onset of cold weather.
Growing garden blueberries has a number of nuances. Fulfilling all the requirements, you can get an enviable crop of delicious, healthy berries. Experienced gardeners give tips on how to grow this interesting species.
Choosing a place and soil
How to grow garden blueberries ? You will need to choose a suitable place. The area on which it is planned to plant blueberries should have high-quality drainage. Otherwise, surface water may stagnate in the ground, causing rotting of the roots. Blueberries will die in this case.
The plant feels good in a lighted place on the site, after ripening, the berries will have a sweeter taste. The terrain on which the bush grows must be elevated. There should not be strong winds and drafts. A calm, sunny place on the plot is an ideal solution for growing whimsical blueberries.
It is better to give preference to peat or sandy soils. However, it is worth considering that the first type of soil is characterized by a rather high nitrogen content. As a result, in winter, blueberries can freeze. In addition, peat soil thaws much more slowly. There should not be large trees and sprawling shrubs nearby.
When studying how to grow blueberries in a garden plot, you need to pay attention to the choice of soil. It must be sour. Otherwise, the plant will not take root here. In the area where the bush will grow, no additional crops should be grown for 2-3 years.
If there is no suitable site in the country or in the garden, you need to prepare the soil yourself. Before planting in the soil you will need to make a mixture of peat (3 parts) and sand (1 part). This recipe applies to loamy soil. If the soil lacks nutrients, nitrogen, phosphate and potassium fertilizers must be applied to the ground in equal proportions. In this case, it will be easier to create suitable conditions for blueberries.
When to plant?
Garden blueberries are planted in autumn or spring. The second option is preferable. Over the summer, the seedling manages to grow and take root in a new place. It will get stronger, and winter colds will not be able to harm a young plant. For planting, seedlings are purchased in specialized stores. When choosing material for planting, you need to pay attention to the root system. It should not be open - the bush is usually planted in a container with earth.
If blueberries grow on your friends’s site, you can plant using bush dividing, layering or cuttings.
If the owners of the plot nevertheless decided to plant blueberries in the fall, they should pay great attention to the removal of weak branches by secateurs after the first year of growing blueberries. Developed shoots should be shortened by half.
The procedure for planting garden blueberries does not depend on the time of year. It must be planted in the ground before the buds begin to swell. You must also consider that you can’t just transfer the plant from the tank to the pit - this can damage fragile roots that cannot take root in the soil without proper preparation.
Before planting in the ground, you need to lower the container into water for 25 minutes, then the seedling must be carefully removed from its previous container. The earthen lump is carefully kneaded, and the roots are straightened.
Next, you need to prepare in the area of the pit 60 × 60 cm in size. Their depth should be about 50 cm. The distance at which the plants are planted depends on the variety. If there are several bushes, they should be located at a distance of 120 cm, if the bush grows up to 2 m in height. Medium-sized species of blueberries can be planted at a distance of 1 m, and undersized - 50 cm. Between the rows leave a distance of 3-3.5 m.
The walls, as well as the bottom of the recess, need to be loosened to improve the flow of oxygen to the roots. Peat with sand and fertilizers are introduced into the pit. The seedling is lowered into the pit, spreading its roots. Deepening fall asleep with soil. The root neck should be 3 cm below the soil level. Then the seedling is watered and mulched. The sawdust layer should be about 20 cm.
Care Features
Planting and care of garden blueberries require compliance with a number of simple rules. When the seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place of growth, the soil near the bushes will need to be loosened to a depth of 8 cm. Do not do this often. Otherwise, the bush will not receive enough moisture. Also, do not loosen the earth deeply. In this case, fragile roots can be damaged.
Loosening is carried out without removing the mulch. It is replenished once every 2-3 years, which is also a mandatory requirement for growing blueberries. In the area where the seedlings grow, weeds must not be allowed to develop - they are destroyed immediately.
Garden blueberry seedlings need proper watering, fertilizing and pruning. It is very important to properly moisten the soil, so you need to develop the right irrigation scheme. The soil should be moist, but remember that stagnation can lead to rotting of the roots, and this can not be allowed.
Most often, the soil is watered 2 times a week. Under each adult bush you need to pour a whole bucket of water. Moisture seedlings require a little less. Watering is carried out early in the morning and after the sun sets. In other words, the bushes are watered twice a day every three to four days as the soil dries.
In the hot season, the plant needs abundant watering. To moisten the soil more than usually necessary during the period of active flowering. Due to a lack of water, the quality of the crop not only this, but also the next year, can significantly decrease. On hot days after sunset, the bushes also need to be sprayed from the spray gun.
Top dressing
Planting and care of garden blueberries require the use of fertilizers. Although this plant is not particularly demanding on the indicators of soil fertility, the plant gives a good crop when using mineral fertilizers. This type of bait must be applied in the spring. They are added to the soil at the very beginning of spring, when the plant begins active sap flow.
Organic fertilizers are strictly prohibited. But blueberries perfectly absorb superphosphate, ammonium sulfate, zinc and potassium, as well as magnesium sulfate. These fertilizers affect the quality of the crop and the well-being of the bush. Ammonium sulfate must be added three times per season. In total, during this time, each bush should receive about 80 grams of bait of this species. The first time you need to apply nitrogen fertilizer to the soil in early spring, when the buds begin to swell on the branches (about 35 g). In the first decade of May, fertilizing (about 25 g) will also be required. And after a month, the remainder of the ammonium sulfate (20 g) is added.
Superphosphate should be used in summer and autumn. In total, about 100 g of this bait for each bush will be required. Fertilizer based on magnesium is applied in an amount of 15 g once a season. Sulphates of potassium, zinc are also used once in an amount of 2 g each.
Fertilizers for gardening blueberries can improve the quantity and taste of berries, so you need to treat this work very responsibly.
Seed propagation
Propagation of garden blueberries is carried out in different ways. Vegetative methods or seeds can be used for this. The second option involves the preparation of planting material. First, the largest and most ripe berries are harvested from the bushes, from which seeds are extracted. The kernels are dried. In autumn, seed will need to be added to the greenhouse soil, after adding acid peat to the soil.
If the seeds are planted in the spring, the seeds will need to be prepared in advance. They are stratified for 3 months. Seeds are placed on the lower shelf of the refrigerator, the seeds are placed in grooves prepared in the soil to a depth of 1 cm, and they are covered with peat and sand mixture on top.
After the seeds are introduced into the soil, it will be necessary to maintain a high air temperature. It should not fall below +23 º. Humidity should remain at 40%. While the seedlings are developing, they are periodically watered, they constantly loosen the soil, weeds are carefully weeded.
After 2 years of growth, seedlings need to be fertilized with a nitrogen composition. At the same time, it will be possible to plant seedlings in the ground at a constant place of their growth.
Cutting and dividing the bush
Garden blueberries can propagate by cuttings. In this case, the result will be faster. To do this, you need to take cuttings of the roots of the plant. They are cut in October or even early November, when all the leaves fall. Also, the procedure can be performed in early spring before the process of sap flow begins in the branches.
You need to choose shoots thicker. They are cut 9-16 cm long, the cuttings are stored for a month at a temperature of +1 ... + 3 º in the refrigerator. After that, they are planted at an angle to a sand-peat mixture. Above the handle should be about 5 cm of this soil. After 2 years, blueberries are planted on the site.
You can also propagate the plant by dividing the bush. To do this, they dig it out, divide it into 2 parts so that each of them has a rhizome about 6 cm long. After that, each part of the bush is planted on a prepared and fertilized permanent place of growth. Fruits on bushes that propagate vegetatively appear 4 years after planting. When propagated by seed, the first crop is harvested after 7 years.
Shrub pruning
Garden blueberries require proper pruning. This is necessary for regular fruiting of the plant. Pruning is carried out in the spring before the start of sap flow. If sick and frail branches are found in another season, they must be removed and burned immediately.
If the bush bloomed in the first year of its constant growth in the soil, it is necessary to remove all the flowers. From the second year, the plant will need to form a clear "skeleton" - this will allow blueberries to withstand the weight of the berries with a good harvest. Weak, frostbitten and other suspicious branches need to be pruned with secateurs, basal shoots are also carefully removed.
After 5 years, not only weak and diseased branches, but also shoots that are more than 4 years old will need to be cut off at the bush. Of the new shoots, about four of the strongest are left. If the bush is straight-growing, the thinning procedure is performed in the middle of the bush, if the plant is sprawling, then the lower branches will need to be removed.
Some gardeners in the area nearby grow several bushes of this plant. If they touch the branches, this negatively affects the quantity and quality of the crop, so the interweaving of branches should not be allowed.
Such simple recommendations will allow you to grow a beautiful, healthy bush. It will harmoniously fit into the landscape of the garden, and a rich harvest will delight summer residents.
Having delved into the features of growing garden blueberries, you can get an abundant crop of sweet berries. Even in a difficult domestic climate, the plant will feel quite comfortable, delighting its owners with tasty and healthy berries.