We love blueberries and I do mean love them. At least one of us eats blueberries daily so we go though a lot of blueberries. I have two beds of these in the sun garden and have now added tree more blueberry plant around the patio.
The three near the patio are dwarf northsky blueberries. I choose them mainly because of their size. I had a bed of asters that have been there forever and grow so tall that I could not see much out of my kitchen window and they were no longer producing many flowers so I decided to redo the area. Also as you can see in the picture they looked awful once they died down in the fall.
I wanted something that would not disappear during the winter and that would not block the view to the backyard. I also wanted it to produce food for either us or the wildlife.
I decided on this blueberry because it was developed at the University of Minnesota and can handle areas with severely cold winters and abundant snow cover, surviving to -40 degrees F. We don’t get that cold usually but it is nice to know I don;t have to worry much about these plants.. They grow only 2 foot wide and 10 to 18 inches tall and are covered with dense, dark green, glossy foliage that turns dark red in the fall. They also have white and pink flowers in the spring. These will not block my view and they will add color to the patio area.. The medium-size, sky-blue fruits have excellent wild blueberry flavor, superior to most highbush cultivars, with yields of up to 2 lbs. on each bush and ripen in July. Food!
Blueberries maybe planted either bare rooted or as potted plants. (Mine were bare rooted). They thrive in a sunny to partially shaded location, in well-drained, very acidic soil, with a pH of 4.2-5.2. Some say to plant at least two varieties that bloom at the same time for cross-pollination. I have three of the same variety in this area but not far away I have five other plants of another variety. They should be planted three to 8 feet apart.
To plant my berries I dug a hole twice the size of the root ball. After letting the newly arrive plants soak their roots in a tub of warm water for almost 24 hours I gently placed the plant into the hole keeping the crown about the soil. Than I back filled the hole with the loose soil gently pressing it against the root ball. I didn’t water the plants because it started pouring before I got to that point. The last step is to mulch the area with 2 to 3 inches of mulch.
It is important to keep weeds from growing around these plants since they have shallow roots. They need 1 to 2 inches of water per week during the growing season.
Do not fertilize until after they have leafed out and use one for acid loving plants. Work a fertilizer designed for acid-loving plants into the top 3 inches of soil around each plant. Apply again 4-6 weeks later. After the first year, fertilize in spring as new growth begins, and again 4-6 weeks later. Apply fertilizer to the soil beneath each bush, keeping it 5-6 inches away from the main stem.
It is important to remove the flowers from the plant during it first year so that the plant uses all its energy for grow and not producing fruit, This will produce a stronger plant that will give more fruit the next season.
You should prune in late winter or early spring while the bushes are dormant. The first three years, remove small lateral shoots and thin out excessive bushy growth. After the third year, annually remove 1/4 – 1/3 of the old wood, any dead or injured branches, and those close to the ground.
Once the plant is finished flowering cover with bird netting otherwise the birds will eat most if not all the berries.
The plants are in the ground but I still need to add some more perennials and the mulch. Once full-grown nothing should be taller than the white cone so my view of the backyard will not be blocked!
Problem is that I prefer to sit and read on the patio instead of being in the kitchen cooking!
DIY with Kathy! 