Blueberry plants FAQs
Blueberry plants tick all the boxes with their sweetly scented spring flowers, delicious summer fruits and fiery autumn leaves. Grow a couple of these versatile fruit bushes in a pot on the patio or choose a few favourite varieties to fill the fruit patch. Each blueberry plant will pollinate the others, improving the size and quality of the harvest even for self fertile varieties.
Try something a bit different with a ‘pink berry’. The super fruity, sweet flavour of these lovely pink berries is delicious either in a morning smoothie or eaten fresh from the bush. For super large berries, plant blueberry ‘Chandler’. Pick these huge berries in August and September.
How to plant blueberries
Plant your blueberry plant into acidic soil or into a large container full of peat-free ericaceous compost if your garden soil is alkaline. Plant your blueberry at any time of the year. Just avoid planting into frozen ground. Blueberries do best in a sunny spot, so dig the planting hole in a sheltered place that sees plenty of sun.
Dig a planting hole that is twice as wide as the root ball to encourage lateral roots to grow. Make sure that the juncture between root and stem is just above the soil surface and firm the soil around the roots of your new bush gently with your boot. Water in your blueberry plant to settle the soil around the roots. Water your blueberries with rainwater to increase the soil’s acidity.
What to feed blueberry plants
Feed your blueberry plants every week during the growing season using a liquid ericaceous plant fertiliser. Give your bushes a mulch of pine needles or bark chips in autumn to keep the soil around the roots acidic. It’s a good idea to repot your container grown plants or at least replace the top third of compost every couple of years to make sure your blueberry plants have all the nutrients they need to grow.
How to look after blueberry plants
Blueberry plants are easy to look after. Give them a prune every year after they’ve established themselves to keep them productive and healthy. Cut away any dead or diseased stems with sharp, clean snips to free up the middle of the bush and encourage lots of air flow. Make sure your blueberry plants never fully dry out by keeping the soil moist around the roots. When it comes to summer and the berries start forming on the bush, use netting to protect them from pesky birds.
