Growing Blueberries

Planting, Growing, Pruning, and Harvesting Blueberries

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow.

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Did you know that the modern blueberry is a 20th-century invention? Before the 1900s, the only way to enjoy these North American natives was to find them in the wild. Then, scientists started to unlock the secrets of cultivating blueberries—and we’re glad they did! Here’s how to grow blueberries in your garden.

Plump, juicy blueberries are now easy to grow in your backyard on bushes that are resistant to most pests and diseases, and can produce for up to 20 years. A relative of rhododendron and azalea, blueberry bushes aren’t just a great fruiting plant but also an attractive addition to your overall landscape, offering scarlet fall foliage and creamy-white, bell-shaped spring flowers. Read more about why you should grow blueberries in your home garden (as if you needed an excuse!).

Types of Blueberries

There are four types of blueberries: highbush, lowbush, hybrid half-high and rabbiteye. The most commonly planted blueberry is the highbush. Most blueberry breeding has focused on this species, so there are many varieties that range widely in cold hardiness and fruit season, size, and flavor. Read more about blueberry varieties below.

Planting

When to Plant Blueberry Bushes

Bushes should be planted as early in the spring as possible.
If available, 1- to 3-year-old plants are a good choice. These can be bought in containers or bare-root. In either case, be sure to buy from a reputable nursery or website.

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

Select a sunny, sheltered spot. While blueberries are tolerant of shade, better crops are obtained in the sun. At the same time, they should not be exposed to harsh, drying winds.
Don’t plant blueberries too close to trees, as the trees will not only block out sunlight, but will also suck up any moisture in the soil.
If planting multiple bushes, it’s best to plant them in a patch, rather than scattered throughout your garden. This will bolster berry production and quality.
The blueberry is a shallow-rooted plant. Therefore, it requires a soil that holds moisture, but also drains well and doesn’t stay wet. Don’t plant blueberries in sites that have heavy, clayey soils that stay wet.
Blueberries thrive in soil that is acidic. The soil pH should ideally be between 4 and 5. Soil can be acidified by mixing a small amount of granulated sulfur into the soil several months before planting. Peat moss, as well as pine bark or needles, are also good additions that will help acidify your soil.
Mix organic matter into the soil before you set your blueberry bushes. (See more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.)

How to Plant Blueberry Bushes

Dig holes about 20 inches deep and 18 inches wide (or about twice as wide and twice as deep as the roots of the plant).
Space bushes 4–5 feet apart in a row, with at least 8 feet between rows. Prepare a planting mixture of 2 parts loam and one part oak leaf mold, peat moss, aged sawdust, or compost, and place a layer of this mixture in the bottom of the hole.
Set the bush in the hole with its roots spread out. Don’t plant the bush any deeper than it grew in the pot. Pack the hole tightly with soil.
Apply fertilizer one month after planting, not at the time of planting. Apply ½ ounce of a 10-10-10 fertilizer in a band around the plant 6 to 12 inches from the crown.

Can You Grow Blueberries in a Container?

Yes! In fact, blueberries grown in containers are easier to protect from birds and other critters, more disease resistant, easy to harvest, and easy to move if needed.

Here’s how to do it:

Use a large container with drainage holes.
Use a potting mix designed for acid-loving plants such as azaleas or rhododendrons, or mix sandy soil with peat moss and compost.
Plant the bush in the container and water well.
Add mulch on top of the soil to keep in moisture.
Place the pot in a sunny spot.
Keep soil moist.
In northern regions, overwinter the blueberry container in a protected area or cover the container with straw or wrap it in burlap.

Varieties for Containers

‘Top Hat’: Bred by the University of Michigan for small spaces and containers.
‘Pink Lemonade’: Pink blueberries contain genetics from rabbiteye blueberries (a standard in the hot South). These pink berries can be planted in nearly every climate.
‘Pink Champagne’: Another pink variety full of antioxidants and sweeter than blue blueberries.

'Pink Lemonade' blueberries
‘Pink Lemonade’ blueberries

Care

How to Care for Blueberry Bushes

Mulch to keep shallow blueberry root systems moist, which is essential. Apply a 2- to 4-inch layer of woodchips, saw dust, or pine needles around the bush after planting, but leave a gap around the trunk of the bush to allow for proper air flow. Read more about mulching.
Blueberries need 1 to 2 inches of water per week.
Warning: Blueberries are a favorite snack of hungry birds, so it’s recommended that you protect blueberry bushes ahead of time by draping bird netting over your plants.
One year after planting, apply 1 ounce of 10-10-10 fertilizer per bush in the spring at blooming time, and increase the rate by 1 ounce each year thereafter to a maximum of 8 ounces for mature bushes.
Do not allow the bush to produce fruit for the first year or two after planting. This lets the plant use its energy to get well established in its new home instead.
Pinch back any blossoms developing on newly set plants to allow the energy to go to growth.

How to Prune Blueberry Bushes

For the first 4 years or so after planting, there is no need to prune blueberry bushes. From then on, pruning is needed to stimulate growth of the new shoots that will bear fruit the following season.
Prune plants in late winter or early spring before new growth begins.
Cut out dead, broken, short, weak, and spindly shoots.
On highbush varieties, begin with large cuts, removing wood that is more than 6 years old, drooping to the ground, or crowding the center of the bush. Also remove low-growing branches whose fruit will touch the ground, as well as spindly twigs.
Prune lowbush blueberries by cutting all stems to ground level. Pruned plants will not bear the season following pruning, so prune a different half of a blueberry patch every two years (or a different third of a patch every three years).

Pests/Diseases

Birds
Blueberry Maggot
Powdery Mildew

Harvest/Storage

How to Harvest Blueberries

Blueberries are typically ready for picking between June and August.
Don’t rush to pick the berries as soon as they turn blue. Wait a couple days. When they are ready, they should fall off right into your hand.
If you plant 2-year-old blueberry bushes, they should start to bear within a year or two. (Pick off any flowers that form the first year or two after planting, to allow the bush to become established.) Be aware that full production is only reached after about 6 years (depending on variety).

How to Store Blueberries

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruits to freeze. Learn how to properly freeze blueberries so you can have them all winter long.

Blueberries

Recommended Varieties

Blueberries are partially self-fertile, so you will harvest more and larger berries by planting two or more varieties together. Planting more than one variety can also extend the harvest season.

Highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum): A six-foot shrub hardy from Zone 4 to Zone 7.

For withstanding cold winters, choose ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Blueray’, ‘Herbert’, ‘Jersey’, or ‘Meader’.
For big berries, choose ‘Berkeley’, ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Blueray’, ‘Coville’, ‘Darrow’, or ‘Herbert’.
For flavor, usually the main reason for growing your own fruit, choose ‘Blueray’, ‘Darrow’, ‘Herbert’, ‘Ivanhoe’, ‘Pioneer’, ‘Stanley’, or ‘Wareham’.
For something different, try ‘Pink Lemonade’, which produces bright pink blueberries!

Lowbush (Vaccinium angustifolium): For the coldest climates, lowbush varieties are your best bet, hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 7.

These are the blueberries you find in cans on supermarket shelves. When fresh, the fruits are sweet and covered with a waxy bloom so thick that the berries appear sky blue or gray.
The creeping plants, a foot or so high, are spread by underground stems, or rhizomes. They blanket the rocky upland soils of the Northeast and adjacent portions of Canada. Lowbush blueberries make a nice ornamental fruiting ground cover.
Plants sold by nurseries are usually seedlings or unnamed wild plants, rather than named varieties.

Half-High: Breeders have combined qualities of highbush and lowbush blueberries into hybrids known as half-high blueberries.

University of Minnesota introductions include ‘Northcountry’, a variety that grows 18 to 24 inches high and has excellent, mild-flavored, slightly aromatic sky-blue fruits; and ‘Northblue’, which grows 20 to 30 inches high and produces an abundance of dark-blue, nickel-size, somewhat tart fruits-just right for pies.
‘Northland’ is a half-high that grows 3 to 4 feet tall. From Michigan, it has relatively bland, average-quality fruit.

Rabbiteye (Vaccinium ashei): Grown in the southeastern United States, Rabbiteye varieties are extremely adaptable, productive, and pest-tolerant. They do, however, have a high degree of self-incompatibility and require two or more varieties be planted together to ensure pollination.

Wit & Wisdom

In Ireland, baskets of blueberries are still offered to a sweetheart in commemoration of the original fertility festival of Lammas Day, celebrated on August 1.
Blueberries are one of the few naturally blue foods on earth.
For centuries, Native Americans gathered “star berries” (the blossom end of each berry forms the shape of a perfect five-pointed star) from forests and fields and ate them fresh or dried them for later use.
- Dried blueberries were added to stews, soups and meats.
- Dried berries were also crushed into a powder and rubbed into meat for flavor.
- Blueberry juice was used to cure coughs.
- Blueberry juice was also used as a purple dye for cloth and baskets.
- A tea made from the leaves of the blueberry plant was believed to be good for the blood.
Tired of blueberries? Try growing another berry in your garden, such as strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries!

Recipes

Cooking Notes

Visit our recipe archives to find delicious blueberry recipes ranging from salads to desserts!

Reader Comments

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For older blueberry bushes,

For older blueberry bushes, you need to prune. Also, make sure you thin early in the season. Remove blooms and berries so it's not overloaded with fruit and has more leaves versus fruit.

I got a blueberry bush from

I got a blueberry bush from nursery and planted it now its turning brown. What can I do

Can blueberries grow well in

Can blueberries grow well in an appropriately-sized container? If so, are there any variations to the general recommendations that I've read on your site, such as about soil pH, sun exposure and watering?

I live in Los Angeles, CA.

Yes, blueberries grow in

Yes, blueberries grow in containers. We'd suggest a 5-gallon container. You need to prepare an acidic soilless growing medium. Mix one part sphagnum peat moss and one part shredded pine bark. As the plant matures, repot it in a larger container or barrel. The challenge with containers is generally watering. Don't let the plant dry out; at the same time, we don't want the plant to have soggy roots. Keep it moist with light watering and occasional drench to get rid of soil salts. In a container, blueberries need to be fed with the appropriate fertilizers--a mix of liquid and slow-release acid fertilizers. Contact your county Extension agent about the best varieties for your area and what's best for each variety.

I live in Tennesse. I would

I live in Tennesse. I would like to know if it is too late in the season to plant blue berry bushes in my yard. It is Mid July.

Blueberries should be planted

Blueberries should be planted while dormant, usually from November through March.

I live in the SC plains. I

I live in the SC plains. I just bought an O'neal variety Bluberry bush on sale here and it's Early September. What should I do with the plants untill they go dormant? I have them sittin gon my deck, full sun right now in th 5 gal containers they came with.

It should still be fine to

It should still be fine to get them in the ground in the fall. Just make sure the soil is prepared BEFORE planting so it has the pH that is acceptable for blueberries.

How close can I plant my

How close can I plant my blueberry bushes. I have planted 2 about 2 feet apart.

Hi Steve, Spacing depends on

Hi Steve, Spacing depends on the variety of blueberry. We use 4 to 5 feet apart as a general rule but you can see that some compact plants get 2 feet: www.burpee.com/fruit-plants/bl...

Thanks. Great Help, Great

Thanks. Great Help, Great Website. Will space my plants further apart.

I HAVE BEEN GROWING BLUE

I HAVE BEEN GROWING BLUE BERRIES FOR LAST 7 OR 8 YEARS ,I ONLY BUY MORE AT END OF SUMMER OR EARLY FALL .WHEN STORES PUT THEM ON SALE .I HAVE 27 PLANTS AND THEY ARE GREAT .I FERTILIZE LIGHTLY WITH 10 10 10 AND PUT PINE NEDDLES IN FALL.I NEED TO FIND A BETTER WAY OF PICKING THEN ONE AT TIME .ANY GOOD IDEAS WOULD BE HELPFUL

Even most small blueberry

Even most small blueberry operations harvest their fruit by hand. Mechanical harvesters are available, but you need a large planting to justify the expense--and many of the berries aren't fit for fresh consumption and better for frozen use.
Blueberries are harvested most quickly when they are at peak ripeness. Look for the whitish, dusty appearance (bloom) of the blueberry. Harvest when it's the coolest part of the day. To easily remove from the bush, use the thumb and forefinger, keeping the hand cupped under the berry to avoid dropping it. Use pint cuts or buckets that are no larger than 5 quarts so the berries don't get mashed or too hot. Never leave berries in the sun; cool the fruit as soon as possible. We hope this helps.

If your bushes are in rows

If your bushes are in rows you can lay sheets or unroll bolts of cloth on either side, slightly overlapped in the middle. I like to prop up the outside edges of sheets slightly - long foam rods such as used in swimming pools for play are great if set under the cloth outer edges so berries do not roll off of the cloth. Shake bushes gently and ripe berries fall. If unripe berries fall you are shaking too hard. Collect by gently sweeping up with a clean broom and dust pan or pick up cloth to gently dump into baskets, then wash and sort. Slightly unripe berries can be left spread out over night indoors and will continue to ripen for a day.

Google "Dirty Jobs

Google "Dirty Jobs blueberry", watch the Discover Channel clip and take a look at what appear to be custom hand made tools specifically for harvesting blueberries (though they might only work for the rabbit eye type) in this clip from Dirty Jobs

Also, studies have shown that 'all caps' text is harder to read so if ya want people to understand ya better, go with standard text :)

I have a bag of frozen

I have a bag of frozen berries that were given to me thinking they were juneberries/serviceberries. They are a red/purple color like a wild plum. However they were bitter even with sugar when in a pie and they had a pit to remove. I do not know what the bush looked like. Tasting the frozen fruit, it seems very tart but not bitter to me. What are they and can I make jelly from them? Thank you for your assistance.

Hi Jody, I'm not sure where

Hi Jody, I'm not sure where you live but here is an interesting page on unusual berries (including pictures); http://www.pickyourown.org/unu...

I just started to grow

I just started to grow blueberries and want to say that value of blueberries is awesome for the body. thanks for this info.

I live in NY state. I

I live in NY state. I purchased a 2 BB plants from Lowe's one is a Sharpblue. The other a Chandler. I am not sure if they will be ok in my zone. I'm sorry if question was asked already, but I really need to know.

Sharpblue is hardy in Zones

Sharpblue is hardy in Zones 7b to 10. Chandler is Zones 5 to 7. We don't know where you live in New York and there is a large range so please check here: http://planthardiness.ars.usda...

I purchased 3 BB bushes from

I purchased 3 BB bushes from Home De 2 years ago
We have had flowers but never any fruit
I made a large cage for them but I think a
chip monk may be getting in
Will they eat the berries??
Please provide any info
thanks
HD

I have 8 bushes that came

I have 8 bushes that came from a reputable nursery here in NC.
This is the 2nd year of the bushes having berries, but again the berries are not ripening (all green). Suggestions?

Blueberries grow well if they

Blueberries grow well if they have the right soil. They need acid soil with a pH range of 4.5 to 5.2. Add peat moss to acidify the soil if needed and make sure the soil's high in organic matter.

We moved into a house last

We moved into a house last summer and I never noticed until a couple days ago, but we have what I can only describe as a blueberry tree. It is well over 10 ft. My grandparents always had blueberries, but I didn't recognize this because of its size. The berries are delicious but a little on the small size. Any thoughts on this? I live near Nashville, TN.

Hmmm. Blueberry bushes aren't

Hmmm. Blueberry bushes aren't usually this tall. Take a clipping to your local garden center or cooperative extension to make sure it's a blueberry bush. Blueberry produce smaller berries when they are overloaded with fruits. Thin out older, overgrown branches.

By Byeargan, it sounds like

By Byeargan, it sounds like you have a shad bush tree, also known as Serviceberry (botanical name Amelanchier). You're right, the berries certainly do resemble blueberries and are actually pretty tasty when fully ripe.

Enjoy that tree and fruit. Keep in mind it can easily grow much taller making it difficult to pick the upper berries but you can let the birds have the ones you can't reach!
Happy Berry Pickin'!

A friend just gave me 6 BB

A friend just gave me 6 BB plants, I do not want that many. I was told there are "male" and "female" plants, how do I tell the difference so that I don't get rid of the wrong ones?

Blueberry plants are

Blueberry plants are self-fertile (i.e., they contain both male and female parts in each flower). So, no worries. However, it's always good to have different varieties to aide pollination to ensure you get fruit.

We moved to a location that

We moved to a location that was built in the 60's, and while cleaning part of the property, came across what have to be HIGHBUSH blueberries, as these bushes are 6'-7' tall. Once we cleared the area, it is evident that these were strategically planted and maintained for years. However, they have obviously been neglected for probably near 20 years, but are producing enormous amounts of berries!

They obviously need to be pruned due to the serious overgrowth. Can you give any suggestions as to how this could be done to NOT kill these beautiful plants?

Thanks!

Would like to grow them how

Would like to grow them how do i get the seeds