Growing Blueberries

When a newly planted, bare root blueberry plant will leaf out will depend on several factors, including weather conditions, site conditions, cultivar, and health of the plant. If all goes well, I’m thinking that you should see signs within the next 2 to 3 weeks. The plant has to not only break dormancy but also adjust to its new home, so it might take a little longer than an established plant. Blueray may leaf out a little earlier than Bluecrop. Sometimes nurseries will guarantee a leaf out time for certain plants if you plant by a certain date. You might ask the vendor where you purchased the plants, as they might know best what to expect of their stock. Hope this helps!

Yes, blueberries can survive a light frost after planting. However, it would be a good idea to put down a layer of mulch around the plant’s base and to cover the plant on nights when frosts are expected.

The main type of blueberry grown in TN are Rabbiteye types, especially Tiffblue variety and also Climax and Powder Blue. In higher elevations, Highbush grows well such as Duke, Patriot, and Blue crops. Your local nurseries should be able to advise you for your area! Hope this helps.

Highbush blueberries, such as Spartan, Bluecrop, or Elliott, grow well in Kentucky. Rabbiteyes in warm southern parts. Lowbush types would not do well. For more on growing blueberries in Kentucky, including soil requirements, here is information from the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service:
http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ho/ho60/HO60.PDF
Hope this helps!

For the first year, the same as when you planted the bush, pick off the flowers so that the plant can focus on becoming established. You can start harvesting fruit the second year after planting, as long as the plant is healthy. If it still seems to be struggling, give it another year before allowing it to fruit. We’ve revised the text so this is clearer. Hope this helps!

Vinegar is an acid, so it would make the soil slightly more acidic. Soil acidity is measured as pH; blueberries like a pH of between 4.0 and 5.0. Have you done a soil test? If you bring the soil too much below 4.0, you may notice that your bushes underperform. If, as it happens, your soil is over 5.0, the bushes might appreciate the acid. How much are you going to pour on? Bottom line: if you hand weed well and then mulch heavily, you will probably deter most of the weeds.

For the record, some sources recommend maintaining a soil’s acidity by adding 1 tablespoon of household vinegar to a gallon of water, when watering.

Highbush and rabbiteye blueberries both grow well in Oklahoma, depending on the location and the cultivar. Highbush blueberries generally ripen in May and June and perform best in northern Oklahoma. For best yields, two or more cultivars should be planted together, making sure that bloom time overlaps. Bluecrop and Bluejay are two good highbush varieties that pollinate at the same time. Rabbiteye blueberries ripen from late May to early July, and grow best in central and southern Oklahoma and are more heat tolerant than highbush types. Rabbiteye blueberries bloom at different times so it’s important to select varieties which have overlapping pollination times. Premier and Brightwell are two rabbiteye varieties that overlap. Check with your local nursery or cooperative extension for more local knowledge.

Well, sources suggest that the Northland Blueberry stands at about a 4-foot-spread at maturity (that’s above ground). Generally speaking, blueberry bushes have small root systems. We’d recommend perhaps a 15-gallon size container to start. As it matures, you might need or want to transplant it into a half whiskey barrel or the like (with obvious drainage).

Good question! I don’t think that the northern types would be happy at all. The southern highbush and rabbiteye types, which are grown in mild climates due to their lower chilling requirements, might be OK with extra care. Blueberries can be grown in desert climates, such as in Arizona. Some gardeners grow them in containers, so that they can move them to shade during high heat (and also, so that they can use appropriate soil, as sometimes native soil may be too alkaline). For more information, you might contact your county’s Cooperative Extension service. There might be someone there who would know about the temperature tolerances of these plants. For contact information, see:
http://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services