Growing Blueberries

Planting, Growing, Pruning, and Harvesting Blueberries

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow.

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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!

Plump, juicy berries 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 edible plant but also an attractive addition to your overall landscape, offering scarlet fall foliage and creamy-white, bell-shaped spring flowers. Learn more about why you should grow blueberries in your home garden.

Note: Blueberries are a favorite snack of hungry birds, so it’s recommended that you protect blueberry bushes ahead of time with netting or other methods.

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

How to Plant Blueberry Bushes

Select a sunny, sheltered spot. While blueberries are tolerant of shade, better crops are obtained in the sun.
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.
The blueberry is a shallow-rooted plant. Therefore, it requires a soil that holds moisture, but also drains well and doesn’t stay wet.
Mix organic matter into the soil before you set your blueberry bushes. (See more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.)
Bushes should be planted as early in the spring as possible. If available, 1- to 3-year-old plants are a good choice. Be sure to go to a reputable nursery.
Dig holes about 20 inches deep and 18 inches wide (about twice as wide and twice as deep as the roots of the plant).
Space bushes about 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.
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. Read more about mulching.
Blueberries need 1 to 2 inches of water per week.
Drape netting over ripening blueberries, so that the birds won’t make away with the entire crop.
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.
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 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 will be ready for picking in late July to mid 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 reached after about 6 years.
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. 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 truly 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.

Recipes

Cooking Notes

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

Reader Comments

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Where to plant

Thanks for your response. Can blueberry shrubs get full sun? Is a "2 gallon pot" a typical size I can find at a nursery or is that an older plant? And would they do better if all in the same area?

Blueberries

They can take full sun, but do better with a bit of shade. Two-gallon pots are a common size; you will also find 5-gallon pots. You are looking for container plants that are 2 to 3 years old (you can also buy bare-root blueberry shrubs). They won’t necessarily do better planted together but by grouping them you are ensuring they have the same soil conditions, and it makes watering both easier and more uniform. When planting, space the shrubs 4 to 6 feet apart (If you go with bare roots, plant them in early spring while plants are still dormant.)

Blueberry bushes disease

My blueberry bushes have developed black dots on the leaves. What is this and what do I do about it?

Leaf Spot on Blueberry Foliage

It sounds like they might have Septoria leaf spot disease. Try to keep the foliage as dry as possible (avoid overhead watering) to limit the spread of spores; also remove the most disease-riddled leaves as well as any that have dropped into the soil. This is a difficult disease to manage once spores are in the soil. If the plants continue to succumb, consider replacing them next year with disease-resistant varieties (start with clean soil, i.e. remove what is there and replace with compost-rich, amended soil).

Blueberries

I live in northern Califirnia and I have 2 blueberry bushes that are doing pretty well except one has very sour fruit. I have waited until the berries are dark blue but still are bitter. Do you have any suggestions as to why one bush has very tasty berries and the other does not..

bitter blueberries

Are the two bushes the same variety? If not, it could be that the other variety has a different, more sour, taste. Flavor will vary between varieties. If your bushes are the same type, was the bitter plant producing an unusually abundant crop of berries? If so, those berries can be bitter. When your bush overproduces, you’ll want to be sure to thin the fruit so that the plant can focus on growing fewer berries, and that can help the sweetness. Perhaps another possibility is that the plant is under stress–mechanical injury, disease, environmental, pests, etc. – check to see if the plant looks healthy overall, including the base of the trunk (to check for any damage to bark by weed trimmers, etc).

Just a hint, add hard wood

Just a hint, add hard wood ash about 2 in deep in a circle about 4 in from bush. Water lightly. do this early June and you harvest in Aug will be so sweet your mouth will hurt lol.

blueberries

I have two blueberry bushes in large pots, Climax variety, I believe. I don't seem to have any growing problems, but I wonder why my berries have so many seeds. Is it the variety or is there something I can do?

Blueberry Seeds

All blueberry species have about 20 small seeds, but your blueberry variety’s seeds are more noticeable. The climax variety is a type of rabbiteye blueberry, and rabbiteye blueberries tend to have more noticeable seeds. You could try a non-rabbiteye variety if you would like the seeds to be less noticeable.

Care for Blueberry bush

I have a few blueberry bushes. I notice their leaves are more yellow than green and they do not look healthy to me. What should I do? I would really appreciate some advice.

Kind regards,
Verceles Laron

yellow leaves

It sounds like the plant is struggling in soil that is not the proper pH. Yellow leaves on blueberry plants are a sign of iron deficiency. Have your soil tested before doing anything hasty. Soil kits are available at garden and nursery stores. Or contact your local cooperative extension (usually at a public/state university).

useful website

Bluberry wheather

I live in iran ,The north name is mazandaran which have a 60 percent humanity by the bigest lake (caspian see)in the world also rains almost 2 days of the week or more but good sunny days as well in summer , rains more in spring than summer dear and no body try to grow bluberry and i have request some blueberry seeds to cultivate for testing and need to know some advice and wanna know rainy days effect my bluberry plant do u think?

wild alaskan blueberry

was looking for wild alaskan blueberry plants or seeds . Would they grow in western pa. if i can find some?

pink lemonade y

I planted my pink lemonade blueberries last year and wondered when they will produce blossoms. It's the first week in April plants look healthy but no blossoms.

Blueberry blossoms

Your pink lemonade blueberry plant should show white-pink flowers in spring, and the berries should ripen in late July to early August. Often, when blueberries are not flowering, it is due to lack of pollination. Perhaps it has been poor weather and the busy bees have not come out? Blueberries are very susceptible to late spring frosts, too. Also, while blueberries are self-fertile they do much better when there is a second blueberry plant that blooms about the same time. There could be other issues, such as acidic soil pH (which needs to be below 5.5), good drainage (no wet feet!), and proper pruning, but usually it’s the bees.

Berkely bush died in first season

I planted a Berkely blueberry bush I got from a reputable supplier last year, next to 3 other new bushes. All were planted in large containers, in good full sun. The Berkely shrivelled and died just after the fruit started to show. I pulled the container away from the other containers. The dead bush smells like garlic when you snap its branches. Any idea what killed it and do I need to worry about the other bushes?

The Blueberry Blues

Hi, sodagirl: This is difficult to diagnose from afar, but it almost sounds like this bush became infected with parasitic nematodes (microscopic). Another possibility is a virus, although it would be more probable that nematodes would infect only one out of four plants, rather than all. Odors from dead plants usually are generated not by the killers, but by bacteria that are late to the (dead matter) party. We would get rid of this plant by double-construction-grade-bagging it up, soil and all, and taking it to the landfill (consult with attendant) or burying it in a deep hole. In the meantime, to be on the safe side, apply an organic (if possible) nematicide to your remaining plants per directions. But the main thing is to not let this dead bush be sitting around: It needs to be quarantined ASAP. Good luck!

New Blueberry Plants

Hello Everyone,

I am need of some good, sound advice. I have been doing a lot of research on Blueberry plants as far as planting, soil type, care, and I have realized that I am very confused. lol. I have purchased 2 Blue Ray plants and I am going to buy 2 of another variety to start. My soil isn't the greatest. I have about 12 inches of good soil then another 6 inches of iffy soil then it goes to fairly hard clay. Can I ammend the soil to work or is it good enough. I'm not opposed to a little work to get the soil up to par. Any input is appreciated. Thank you in advance..

Blueberry climates

I live in Nebraska and would love to plant a blueberry and raspberry bushes. Are blueberry and raspberry bushes hardy enough to grow in Nebraska with colder temperatures?

Both blueberries and

Both blueberries and raspberries grow very well in colder regions. Go to your local garden center and see what varieties they have to offer.

Go to http://hortupdate.unl.edu/Blueberries to read about growing blueberries in Nebraska.

Go to http://hortupdate.unl.edu/Raspberry to read about growing raspberries in Nebraska.

birds and blueberries

The "banger", compressed air gun, goes off every10-15 minutes for several weeks, end of July and into August. It drives neighbors, summer visitors, dogs, etc. up the wall or under the table. I have read that the birds can actually locate fields by listening for the blast. An old guy in the neighborhood swears this is the only way to protect the crop, another claims that the loss from birds is not significant, unless it is a flock of Biblical proportion. Could the banger technique be a carry over, like a rural myth? For example: We used to plow to warm the soil in early spring but now know that "no till "is more productive and stops erosion.) I believe there must be a quiet solution. Ideas?

Quick Question: I planted a

Quick Question: I planted a Vaccinium Corymbosum blueberry bush today, do I need to get another bush for it to produce blueberries or will this bush produce berries by itself ?

Blueberry plants are self

Blueberry plants are self-fertile, so no worries. However, it’s always good to have different varieties to aide pollination to ensure you get fruit.

Blueberry bushes

I live in North Florida, we just bought a house that has some blueberry bushes, they appear to be young. When and how should we fertilize them?

Fertilizing Blueberries

Wanda, Here’s is advice on fertilizing blueberries from the UF extension:

“Blueberries respond best to frequent, light fertilization. They can be killed or damaged by over-fertilization. It is best to be conservative and gradually increase fertilizer rates as you gain experience with your soil type and the kinds of fertilizer you are using.

Do not put fertilizer in the planting hole. After planting, when the soil is well settled from irrigation or rainfall, give un-mulched plants 1 ounce per plant of 12-4-8 (N-P2O5-K2O) with 2% magnesium (Mg). Use ammoniacal nitrogen or nitrogen from urea or organic sources, rather than from nitrate sources. Chlorine levels should be as low as possible, preferably below 2%. A special formulation called “blueberry special” is available in Florida and meets these requirements. Another possibility is “camellia-azalea” fertilizers. Many of these fertilizers are suitable for blueberries, and they are usually readily available in small quantities for home gardeners. Spread fertilizer evenly over a circle 2 feet in diameter with the plant in the center. Repeat this procedure in April, June, August, and October. If plants are heavily mulched, use 1.5 ounces per plant per application rather than 1 ounce because some of the fertilizer will be unavailable for plant uptake. During the second year, use 2 ounces of 12-4-8 per plant per application and spread it evenly over a 3-foot diameter circle. In the third year and beyond, use 3 ounces of fertilizer per plant per application spread evenly over a 4-foot diameter circle, or broadcast in a continuous band 3–4 feet wide, centered on the plant row. These are general guidelines and should be adjusted based on plant performance. Slightly more fertilizer may be required if plants are heavily mulched. However, more often than not, cultivated blueberries suffer more from over-fertilization than from lack of fertilization.”

Blueberry cross pollination

Quick question about cross pollination. I'm brand new to gardening. I bought a pink lemonade blueberry bush without knowing anything about blueberry bushes. Everything I read says that it's better to have two bushes of different variety. Why a different variety? Could I just get a second pink lemonade bush?

Blueberries have both male

Blueberries have both male and female organs on the same flower, but not all are self-pollinating. Pink lemonade is fully self-pollinating and you don’t need a different variety for cross pollination. Some growers suggest that the berries will be bigger and sweeter if you grow a different variety nearby. For best fruiting choose to plant a rabbiteye variety like ‘Climax’ or ’Tifblue’.