Full Sun Perennials Easy to Grow Under Flowering Bush

Anthony enjoys spending time in the workshop, kitchen, garden, and out fishing. Many of his DIY projects are featured in his yard.

Backyard blueberries: almost ready for picking!

Anthony Altorenna

Nothing Tastes Better Than Fresh Blueberries Picked From Your Own Garden!

Blueberries might be the perfect choice for growing fresh fruit in the backyard garden. Hardy and easy to grow in northern gardens, the bushes are attractive landscape plants. As an added benefit, established bushes produce reliable crops of delicious berries every summer. The plants are also versatile and can be grown in the ground or in containers. By following a few basic steps for planting and caring for them, the reward is many years of picking a bounty of fresh, delicious, and nutritious fruit in your backyard.

Native to North America and offered through nurseries and online retailers, blueberry plants are available in many different varieties with different cultivars producing fruit in early, mid and late summer. Berry size varies with different varieties, with some types bearing large fruits that are perfect for pancakes and pies. Other varieties produce a smaller, firmer crop for muffins and bread. Planting several varieties ensures a steady crop of fresh fruit throughout the growing season.

Look for varieties that are adapted to your local climate. There are warm-weather cultivars as well as plants that are at home in colder northern climates and can withstand winter's freezing temperatures.

Always plant more than one variety of blueberry bush. Though some types are self-pollinating, planting at least two different varieties encourages cross-pollination and leads to larger fruit crops.

A row of blueberry bushes line our driveway.

Anthony Altorenna

How to Grow Your Blueberries

Selecting the Right Site

Though blueberries are easy to grow and established plants require little care, getting the plants off to a good start requires selecting the right growing location. They require full sun, well-drained soil, and a low pH between 4.5 and 5.5 to grow healthy, fruit-bearing plants.

Select a sunny location with good drainage for growing your plants. They thrive in moist soils, acidic soils but they will not do well in wet or soggy ground. Because of their appetite for acidic soil with a low pH, growing several plants in a raised bed makes it easier to adjust the soil to their specific needs. Growing plants in containers or large tubs is another way of providing a specialized growing environment.

We grow several different varieties of blueberries in two separate planting beds. The row shown here forms a line along one edge of our driveway, featuring nine different plants and representing three or four different varieties. Surrounded by mature oak trees, the planting bed is mulched with a combination of leaves and wood chips. Most of the plants are about ten years old and produce a large crop of berries every summer.

Behind the row is a complementary planting of several large Burning Bush shrubs. In the fall, the leaves of the blueberries and the burning bushes turn several shades of crimson red, creating a colorful display against the granite ledge in the background.

Fresh blueberries from our backyard!

Anthony Altorenna

Planting the Bushes

Spring is the best time to plant a new blueberry bush. Dig a hole twice as deep and twice as wide as the nursery pot, and amend the soil with compost. Test your soil to determine the pH level and if needed, add peat moss or a fertilizer formulated for azaleas.

Mulch the planting bed with 3 to 4 inches of wood chips, and keep the new plant well watered until it becomes firmly established. They have a shallow root system and the mulch helps to retain moisture while inhibiting weeds.

The plants are fast growers, and begin to produce fruit in their third or fourth year of growth.

Maturing bushes require very little care, but will benefit from light pruning in late winter and an annual dose of fertilizer in early spring. To prune a bush, cut away any dead limbs or broken branches while the plant is still dormant. Thin out any old growth to increase air circulation and to make room for new, vigorous branches to grow. Prune any crossing limbs, and lightly trim the bush to retain its upright shape and to control its overall height. Don't prune the shrub after the plant begins to leaf-out or you risk cutting away the buds and bloom that will form this season's crop of berries.

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Protecting Your Blueberry Crop

Blueberries have few natural pests, but they certainly attract the attention of the local wildlife. Beginning in early spring when the bushes are covered in small white or pinkish flowers, hummingbirds and bees gather nectar from the bell-shaped blooms. Bluebirds also visit the blooming shrubs, plucking flowers for an early spring snack.

As the berries ripen, the bluebirds return along with robins, jays, and a host of other feathered friends. Squirrels and chipmunks climb through the branches in search of ripe berries, and even our flock of backyard chickens scratch around the planting beds in search of fallen fruit.

Deer don't seem to bother with them, but my daughter's goat reduced the small plant in the photo to a pile of barren twigs.

Some growers enclose their patch with fencing to protect their crop. Specialized bird netting is another effective barrier, draped over the plants just before the berries begin to ripen. We just share our berries with the birds: our solution required planting more bushes. With fifteen shrubs growing in two separate planting beds (not including the poor bush plundered by the goat), there's usually enough fresh berries for a tart or another batch of pancakes.

Growing Blueberry Plants: Tips & Fun Facts

Did You Know?

They require full sun, well-drained soil, and a low pH between 4.5 and 5.5
Grow varieties that are suited to your climate.
Plant several varieties to ensure proper pollination and a plentiful bounty of fruit.
To extend the harvest season, plant different types that produce fruit in early, mid and late summer.
The fruit is very high in antioxidants. They are also high in vitamin C and a good source of vitamin E.
They are one of the only natural foods that are actually blue in color.
Store fresh crops in an open container to reduce condensation, and keep in the refrigerator.
Do not wash freshly picked crop until just before serving.
Freeze fresh blueberries! Place unwashed ones in a single layer on a sheet tray, and place in the freezer. Store frozen berries in a plastic storage bag.
Native Americans called them "star berries" because the shape of the flower resembles a star shape.

Growing the Plants in the Backyard

Can You Grow Blueberries Where You Live?

Check the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is now interactive: Search using your zip code or click on your state to find your exact plant hardiness zone for your area.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (Public Domain)

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Questions & Answers

Question: Can I plant blueberries close to strawberries and raspberries?

Answer: We grow blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries in our garden. However since blueberries prefer acidic soil with a low pH, the blueberries are planted in a separate planting bed. This allows us to manage the soil conditions to match each plant's growing requirements.

The raspberries are also in their own bed and grow as a 'patch'. Planting the raspberries in their own bed gives them room to spread out.

Question: I heard used coffee grounds in soil doesn't lower pH much. Is this true?

Answer: Blueberries do best in well-drained soil with a low pH between 4.5 and 5.5, which is very acidic. Our soil is naturally on the acidic side, so we don't need to use any additives to lower the pH. Our coffee grounds go into the compost pile along with a mixture of veggie scraps, oak leaves and cleanings from the chicken coop and rabbit hutch.

Coffee grounds are not very acidic, so it's not likely that the spent grounds would reduce the pH of a highly alkaline soil down enough to lower the pH to 5.5. If your soil is alkaline, consider a soil amendment that includes granular sulfur.

Question: What's a natural organic fertilizer for blueberries?

Answer: Blueberry bushes do not grow well if the pH of the soil is too high. Granular sulfur mixed into the soil will lower the pH, though some gardeners just add used coffee grounds.

Question: Our bushes started producing blueberries about a month ago but they are still very small and very hard. We live in Southeast Texas. Can you help?

Answer: Have you checked the pH of the soil? Blueberries require acidic soil and ideally, the pH should be between 4.5 and 5.5. The plants will not grow well if your soil is neutral (pH 6.5 to 7).

Mikesalus on August 28, 2017:

I just got blueberries this year and living in Duluth, mn. I was wondering if I should do anything special to them before winter. Also can I plant them in big pots or will the winter be too cold for that. Thanks, Mike

Tom Fattes from Naperville, IL on September 23, 2014:

I planted a blueberry bush in 2013 and this year had a few new branches. I've had a hard time keeping it going, although this fall it has seemed to perk up. Here's hoping for a better 2015.

Sally Gulbrandsen from Norfolk on September 23, 2014:

Anthony Altorenna

I have a blueberry bush growing in a large pot. It has borne fruit for the past few years - albeit a little small - but nevertheless still quite delicious. I think it deserves a new pot next year.

Jim from Kansas on September 23, 2014:

The PH is a little high here, but I sure do like them. I plant to try again in the spring. I'll have to make the soil more acidic though.

smiththalf1938.blogspot.com

Source: https://dengarden.com/gardening/Planting-Blueberry-Bushes-Growing-Blueberry-Plants-At-Home

Full Sun Perennials Easy to Grow Under Flowering Bush

Nothing Tastes Better Than Fresh Blueberries Picked From Your Own Garden!