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How to plant blueberries. How to grow blueberries in the country. Planting blueberries - a step-by-step guide

Plant blueberry (lat. Vaccinium uliginosum), or bog blueberry, or swampy, or short– type species of the genus Vaccinium of the Ericaceae family. This deciduous shrub is found in temperate and cold regions of the entire Northern Hemisphere - in Eurasia, the species' range begins in Iceland and reaches the Mediterranean and Mongolia, in North America it extends from Alaska to California. Among the people, blueberries have many names - drunkard (drunk berry, drunkard, drunkard), gonobobel (gonoboy, gonobol, gonobob), cabbage roll (blueberry), durnika (fool, fool, fool), blue grapes, blueberry. All names with negative connotations were given to blueberries by mistake: people complained that they gave them headaches (pain drives into the head, like a hangover - hence gonobol, fool, drunkard, etc.), and the culprit of headaches is actually the invariably growing next to blueberries is wild rosemary.

The blueberry itself is a valuable natural product that is increasingly attracting the attention of gardeners. In addition to the common blueberry, which grows everywhere in regions with cool and temperate climates, there is such a species as the highbush garden blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is an American relative of the common blueberry, which has long become a full-fledged garden crop in its homeland. In Canada and the USA this is delicious and healthy berry much more popular than blackcurrant. Varieties and hybrids of garden blueberries, bred by American and Canadian breeders, are gradually gaining popularity among our gardening enthusiasts, and now Canadian blueberries in the garden of the middle zone or hybrid American blueberries in the countryside somewhere in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine are not such a rarity.

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Planting and caring for blueberries

Landing: possible in the spring, before the buds swell, but better in autumn, during leaf fall.
Lighting: bright sunlight.
The soil: rested and restored over several years under fallow, well-drained, peaty-sandy or peaty-loamy, with a pH value of 3.5-4.5 pH.
Watering: in the mornings and evenings twice a week, using at least a bucket of water for each adult bush. That is, you should pour a bucket of water under each bush twice a week, morning and evening. On the hottest days, blueberries are not only watered, but also sprayed early in the morning or after 17.00.
Trimming: in spring, before the buds swell.
Feeding: only with mineral fertilizers at the very beginning of the growing season.
Reproduction: seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush.
Pests: May beetles, beetles, silkworm caterpillars, scale insects, aphids, leaf rollers.
Diseases: gray mold, moniliosis of fruits, physalsporosis, septoria, phomopsis, double spot, stem cancer, dwarfism, red ring and necrotic spots, filamentous branches, viral mosaic.

Read more about growing blueberries below.

Garden blueberries - description

Scientists include lingonberries, cranberries, blueberries and blueberries in the genus Vaccinium, with which some botanists identify blueberries, although this does not seem fair to all specialists. The root system of blueberries is fibrous, without root hairs, the branches are erect, cylindrical, covered with dark gray or brown bark, the shoots are green. The common blueberry bush reaches a height of only one meter; the highbush blueberry species grows to a height of two or more meters. Small, hard, whole smooth blueberry leaves up to three centimeters in length and up to two and a half in width grow in regular order on short petioles. They have an obovate or lanceolate shape with a blunt apex and slightly downward-curved edges, the upper side of the leaf blade is bluish-green due to a waxy coating, the lower side has strongly protruding veins of a lighter shade.

Small drooping five-toothed flowers with a pinkish or white pitcher-shaped corolla up to 6 cm long and 8-10 stamens sit several at a time on the tops of last year’s branches. Blueberry berries are oblong, up to 12 mm long and weighing up to one gram, blue with a bluish bloom, thin-skinned, with greenish pulp. American highbush blueberry berries weigh from 10 to 25 grams, up to 10 kg are harvested from one bush in America; in our conditions, in warm areas and in favorable weather, you can get up to 7 kg of berries from one highbush blueberry bush.

The fact is that not all foreign varieties are suitable for growing in our climatic conditions, since those that begin to bear fruit late only have time to ripen by 30%. Therefore, for those who want to grow this wonderful berry on their plot, it is better to cultivate common blueberries or purchase early and mid-ripening varieties of garden blueberries.

Planting blueberries

When to plant blueberries

Blueberries are planted in both spring and autumn, but spring planting more reliable than autumn, because summer season blueberry seedlings manage to take root on the site and become so strong that the risk of them freezing in winter is minimal. In this article, we will introduce you to the agricultural technology of the plant and tell you in detail about how to plant blueberries correctly, how to grow blueberries and how to care for blueberries, namely, how to feed blueberries, how to water blueberries and how to propagate blueberries. Growing blueberries is not a complicated process; it will be more difficult to harvest and preserve the harvest, but we will tell you about that too.

Soil for blueberries

If you decide to grow blueberries in your garden, select a sunny but wind-protected place for them, and do not try to hide them in the shade - there will be few berries, and you will not like their taste. Take seriously the choice of soil for blueberries, since they can only grow on acidic soils - the optimal pH value for them is pH 3.5-4.5. In addition, it is very desirable that the area where you plant blueberries be fallow for several years: blueberries do not tolerate predecessors.

So, in a sunny, quiet place with well-drained peat-sandy or peat-loamy soil, blueberries will show you their best qualities. If you don’t have a plot of soil in your garden that blueberries will like, don’t worry, you can create it manually.

Planting blueberries in spring

Blueberries are planted in the ground in the spring before the buds swell. Before you plant blueberries, you need to decide which species or variety will grow best in your area. In areas with cool climates, lowbush blueberries are preferred, while in warmer areas, where summers are hot and long, garden blueberry varieties can be cultivated. The most important thing when making a choice is to compare the ripening time with the climatic characteristics of your area, otherwise the blueberries may not have time to ripen, and then your dedicated care of garden blueberries will be in vain.

It is better to purchase seedlings with a closed root system - in pots or containers, but you cannot simply transfer them from a container to a hole, because the fragile blueberry roots will not unfurl in the soil on their own, and the plant will not be able to develop fully. Before planting blueberries, Place the container with the seedling in water for a quarter of an hour, then remove the seedling from the container and try to carefully knead the earthen lump and straighten the blueberry roots.

Planting garden blueberries, like common blueberries, it is preceded by digging holes measuring 60x60 and half a meter deep at a distance of half a meter from each other for low-growing varieties, one meter for medium-growing varieties and 120 cm for tall varieties. The distance between rows should be from three to three and a half meters. It is advisable to loosen the walls and bottom of the pit so that they can allow air to pass to the roots. Then you need to create an acidic substrate in the hole so that the blueberries develop normally - place high-moor peat mixed with sawdust, pine needles and sand on the bottom, add 50 g of sulfur to oxidize the soil, mix everything thoroughly and compact it.

Do not add any fertilizers to the substrate, especially organic ones, which alkalize the soil - everything has its time.

Now you can lower the seedling into the hole, spread its roots in different directions and sprinkle them with earth so that root collar was immersed in the soil by 3 cm. After planting, the seedlings are watered, and the soil around them is mulched with a twelve-centimeter layer of pine sawdust, bark, straw or peat.

Planting blueberries in autumn

The procedure for planting blueberries does not depend on the time of year, and it is described in the previous section, however, after autumn planting, you need to remove all weak branches from a seedling of the first year of life with pruners, and it is advisable to shorten developed ones by half. If the seedling is more than two years old, pruning after planting is not performed.

Blueberry care

Growing blueberries

Several times a season you will have to loosen the soil in the area with blueberries to a depth of about eight centimeters, but try not to overdo it, since loosening too often can dry out your blueberries, and too deep can damage the horizontal root system, which is located only fifteen centimeters from the surface . And that is why mulching the soil on the site is of particular importance. You can loosen the soil without removing the mulch, which must be replenished every two to three years. Do not allow weeds to grow in the blueberry area; remove them immediately after detection.

In addition to loosening and weeding, caring for blueberries includes timely watering, pruning and feeding of blueberries.

Watering blueberries

Proper watering is very important for blueberries. The task is to develop a soil moisture scheme in which the roots will have enough moisture, and at the same time it will not stagnate for longer than two days, otherwise the bush may die. Blueberries need to be watered twice a week, pouring one bucket of water under each mature bush early in the morning and after sunset - exactly like this: a bucket of water under each bush twice a day, twice a week. Blueberries especially need watering in July and August. during fruiting, when flower buds of the future harvest are laid on the bushes, and if the plant experiences a lack of moisture, this will negatively affect the quantity and quality of berries not only in the current, but also in the next harvest.

On the hottest days, blueberry bushes need not only to be watered, but also sprayed so that they do not overheat. This should be done early in the morning and after four o'clock in the afternoon.

Blueberry feeding

Blueberries, which are not particularly demanding on soil fertility, nevertheless respond well to mineral fertilizers, which are best applied at the very beginning of spring, during the period of sap flow and swelling of the buds. Organic fertilizers for blueberries are strictly contraindicated!

The best fertilizers for blueberries– ammonium sulfate, potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, superphosphate and zinc sulfate. It is these forms that are best absorbed by blueberries. Nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium sulfate) are applied in three stages: at the beginning of sap flow, 40% of the nitrogen fertilizers required by blueberries per year are applied, at the beginning of May - 35%, and at the beginning of June - 25%. On average, this is 70-90 g of fertilizer per bush. From summer until next spring, blueberries will not need nitrogen fertilizers.

Phosphorus fertilizers (superphosphate) are applied in summer and autumn at the rate of 100 g per bush. Magnesium sulfate is applied once per season at the rate of 15 g per bush, and potassium sulfate and zinc sulfate - once at 2 g per bush.

Blueberry propagation

Blueberries reproduce by both seed and vegetative methods. Seeds are extracted from full-fledged berries collected from healthy bushes, lightly dried and sown in autumn on training beds dug with acidic peat. If you decide to sow the seeds in the spring, they must first be stratified for three months in the refrigerator, and then sown in the furrows to a depth of one centimeter, covered on top with a mixture of peat and sand in a ratio of 1:3. For seeds to germinate, the following conditions must be created: air temperature 23-25 ºC, humidity about 40%, as well as regular watering, loosening the soil and weeding. Seedlings are fed with nitrogen fertilizer in the spring only in the second year of growth. After two years, the seedlings are planted in a permanent place.

Propagation of blueberries by cuttings gives faster and more reliable results than generative propagation. To do this, use rhizome cuttings of blueberries, which are cut in late autumn after leaf fall or in early spring before the start of sap flow. The optimal cutting length is 8-15 cm, and it is better to take a thicker shoot so that roots form faster and growth begins as early as possible. To enhance survival, the cuttings are stored for a month at a temperature of 1-5 ºC, after which they are planted obliquely in a mixture of sand and peat in a ratio of 3:1, and a layer of the same substrate 5 cm thick is poured on top. If you properly care for the cuttings, in two years, you can get well-developed seedlings that can be planted in a permanent place.

Blueberries are also propagated by dividing the bush. Part of the dug up bush is divided in such a way that each part has a rhizome 5-7 cm long, the divisions are immediately planted in a permanent place. Bushes obtained by seed begin to bear fruit in the seventh or eighth year, and those obtained by vegetative propagation can begin to bear fruit already in the fourth year.

Blueberry pruning

For regular fruiting, blueberries need pruning, which is best done in the spring, before the buds swell, but if you find diseased branches in summer or autumn, there is no need to wait for spring - remove suspicious shoots immediately and burn them. Remove all flowers from first-year bushes - this will have a good effect on the proper development of the plant. In young bushes 2-4 years old, it is necessary to form a strong skeleton by pruning, which will allow the plant to withstand the weight of a good harvest, so weak, diseased, frostbitten branches after winter and lying on the ground are cut out, and the root shoots are also removed.

For bushes four years old and older, in addition to weak and diseased branches, shoots older than five years are cut out, and from annuals, 3-5 of the strongest ones are left. Bushes of straight-growing varieties are thinned out in the middle of the bush, and the lower drooping branches of spreading bushes are cut out. It is important that the branches do not close between neighboring bushes, because this can have a bad effect on the taste of the berries and the ripening period.

Blueberries in autumn

Blueberry picking after the start of fruiting is carried out once a week, and it is better to do this in the morning after the dew has evaporated. From the moment the berries acquire the desired color, they must ripen on the bush for several more days until they turn from dense to soft. During this time, the weight of the berries increases and their sugar content increases. The collected fruits are immediately placed in the refrigerator and stored at a temperature of 0 to +2 ºC for up to two weeks, isolated from other products to prevent the berries from absorbing foreign odors.

For longer storage, washed and dried blueberries are laid out in one layer and placed in the freezer; after freezing through, they are poured into a container and stored again in freezer. You can also dry blueberries and make compote from them in winter, make medicinal decoctions and infusions.

If there are severe frosts in your area, you will have to cover the blueberries, because at a temperature of -25 ºC they have every chance of freezing, especially if there is no snow during the frost. Preparing blueberry bushes for winter begins after harvesting - the blueberry branches need to be slowly pulled to the ground, throwing a loop of twine or wire over them, then secure the bush to the surface of the plot, cover it with burlap (it is better not to use polyethylene, because blueberries will not be able to breathe) and throw spruce branches on top.

When or if snow falls, it’s a good idea to sprinkle the blueberries along the spruce branches with snow. It will be possible to remove all layers of protection from the cold only in the spring. If such cold winters do not occur in your area, you don’t have to cover the bushes for the winter, especially if you grow winter-hardy varieties on your site.

Pests and diseases of blueberries

Blueberry pests

Planting and caring for garden blueberries must be carried out in accordance with agrotechnical rules, and then your plants will be healthy and resistant to diseases, but sometimes healthy plants has to be defended. Most often, blueberries suffer from birds that peck the ripening fruits.

In order to preserve the blueberry harvest, carefully stretch a net with small cells over the bushes. As for insects, they do not cause noticeable damage to blueberries, although they do not change from year to year, and sometimes in the spring blueberry bushes can be attacked by cockchafers and beetles, gnawing the leaves and eating the flowers of the plant, which reduces the yield of blueberries. In addition, beetle larvae eat up the roots of the bushes. Blueberries may also suffer from caterpillars of pine silkworms, leaf rollers, scale insects and aphids.

Beetles and their larvae must be collected by hand and drowned in a bucket of salt water, and in the fight against other pests the best remedy– spraying blueberry plantings with actellik or karbofos, both preventative (in early spring and after harvest) and therapeutic, when you find a pest on the blueberries.

Blueberry diseases

Blueberries suffer most from fungal diseases, such as stem cancer, drying of branches (Phomopsis), gray rot (Botrytis), fruit monoliosis, physalsporosis, white spot (Septoria) and double spot. You should know that almost everything fungal diseases of blueberries are provoked by stagnation of moisture in the roots of the plant, which occurs due to improper watering or insufficient permeability of the soil. Deal with this issue before fungal diseases destroy all the blueberry bushes on the site. As a preventive measure, we recommend treating the plants with Bordeaux mixture every year in early spring and after harvesting, and as a treatment for diseases - double or triple treatment of the plantings with topaz at weekly intervals. Instead of topaz, you can use the same Bordeaux mixture, as well as topsin or foundationazole.

In addition to fungal diseases, blueberries are sometimes affected viral or mycoplasma diseases– mosaic, dwarfism, red ring and necrotic spots, filamentous branches, from which plants cannot be cured; diseased specimens will have to be removed and burned.

Problems arise with blueberries when the rules of agricultural technology are violated. For example, you can sometimes hear complaints that blueberries are turning yellow - the leaves first turn light green and then yellow. Most likely, the problem is that the soil on the site is not acidic enough - add peat to it, and gradually the appearance of the foliage will become the same. Or rather, new leaves will grow green. Blueberry leaves are turning yellow and as a result of a lack of nitrogen, in addition, for this reason, the berries become small and the shoots stop growing. You need to apply nitrogen fertilizer to the soil on your blueberry plot every spring in three stages, remember this. But if blueberry leaves turn red, then these are the first signs of stem cancer or drying of the branches.

Blueberry varieties

Currently, blueberry varieties are divided into four groups:

short– they are based on the species of angustifolia blueberry, crossed with the genetic material of myrtle-leaved and northern blueberries;
northern tall varieties are characterized by high winter hardiness and late fruiting, they were bred on the basis of the North American species - highbush blueberry using genetic material from the common blueberry;
southern tall varieties are complex hybrids of northern highbush blueberries and some blueberry species found in the south, which helped make the new varieties drought-resistant. In addition, southern highbush blueberry varieties are less dependent on soil pH;
semi-tall varieties were formed by further saturating tall blueberry varieties with common blueberry genes, which increased their winter hardiness - these varieties can withstand temperatures down to -40 ºC;
Rabbit eye– the basis of the varieties of this group is the twig blueberry species, which allows the hybrids to exhibit increased adaptation to hot conditions and low content of organic matter in the soil. The growing season of these varieties is very long, so there is no point in growing them in areas with cool and temperate climates - not all the berries will have time to ripen before winter.

Of these five groups, only the northern highbush varieties are suitable for growing in our region, and we offer you a description of the blueberry varieties that are easiest to grow in areas with a temperate and cool climate.

Blugold– a mid-season, medium-growing variety with a semi-spreading bush and medium-sized berries with a sweet and sour taste. A variety with high winter hardiness, but requires thinning and intensive pruning.
Patriot- a tall, mid-season variety with a spreading bush one and a half meters in height, large light blue berries with dense skin, ripening in July-August. Gives consistently high yields– up to 7 kg of berries per bush. The variety is resistant to cold and typical blueberry diseases.
Chippewa- a medium-sized, early-ripening variety up to one meter high with medium and large very sweet berries of light blue color. The variety is characterized by high winter hardiness - it can withstand frosts down to -30 ºC. This variety is good to grow on summer cottage and even in containers.
Duke- a late-flowering but early-ripening tall variety, reaching a height of two meters. Late flowering occurs after spring frosts, and early ripening allows you to obtain high, stable yields of medium and large-sized berries that do not become smaller over the years. The variety is extremely winter-hardy, but requires intensive pruning.

Sunrise- a medium-tall spreading bush with weak shoot formation, which allows pruning less often than other varieties. Large, slightly flattened, dense berries great taste ripen in mid-July; up to 4 kg of fruit can be harvested from one bush. Unfortunately, the variety may suffer from spring frosts.
Chanticleer- a medium-sized bush with ascending branches, blooming after spring frosts. Medium-sized, light blue, sweet and sour berries ripen at the end of June. You can remove up to four kilograms of fruit from one bush. The variety is characterized by high winter hardiness.
Northland- a low, spreading bush, only a meter high, capable of producing regular harvests of 5-8 kilograms of medium-sized blue dense berries of excellent taste. The variety is characterized by high frost resistance and a short growing season - all the berries have time to ripen before winter. This variety is also valued in decorative floriculture due to its compactness and short stature.
Elizabeth- a tall, spreading bush with erect stems and shoots of a reddish hue, which is a sign of particularly high winter hardiness of the variety. The yield ranges from four to six kilograms of berries per bush. The variety is late, but one of the best in taste: very sweet and aromatic large berries up to 22 mm in diameter begin to ripen from the beginning of August. Unfortunately, not all berries have time to ripen.

Properties of blueberries - benefits and harms

Beneficial properties of blueberries

The harm and benefits of blueberries have long interested scientists, and as a result scientific research they discovered that this berry has a number of unique qualities. It protects the body from radioactive radiation, improves the functioning of the intestines and pancreas, slows down the aging of nerve cells, and strengthens the walls of blood vessels. Blueberries have choleretic, antiscorbutic, antisclerotic, anti-inflammatory, cardiotonic and hypotensive effects.

Blueberry fruits contain provitamin A, vitamins B1, B2, C, PP, which is responsible for the elasticity of skin capillaries and reduces the risk of varicose veins, six essential amino acids, calcium, phosphorus and iron, which, in the form in which it is contained in blueberries, is almost completely absorbed by the human body. Blueberries are effectively used in the treatment of rheumatism, atherosclerosis, hypertension, capillary toxicosis, sore throat and other diseases.

Blueberry juice is prescribed for diabetes mellitus, diseases gastrointestinal tract, fever. Blueberries relieve eye spasms and help restore vision; the pectins they contain help bind and remove radioactive metals from the body. And due to the content of highly active antioxidants in the berries, blueberries prevent the formation of cancer cells in the body.

IN folk medicine Blueberries are eaten raw, as well as in the form of decoctions, infusions and tinctures. The benefits of blueberries are obvious both for patients and for healthy people, which, by eating fresh berries, strengthen their immunity and saturate the body with vitamins. However, not only berries are used as raw materials for medicines, but also blueberry leaves and shoots.

Blueberry decoction is indicated for heart disease. It is prepared like this: place two tablespoons of chopped young blueberry branches and leaves in an enamel pan, pour one glass of boiling water, cover with a lid and place the pan in a water bath for half an hour, then remove, cool, filter, squeezing out the remainder. The resulting amount is topped up with boiled water to make a glass of decoction, which heart patients need to take one tablespoon four times a day.

For dysentery or diarrhea, pour a tablespoon of dried berries with a glass of boiling water, heat for five minutes on fire, remove and leave covered for a quarter of an hour. You should also take one tablespoon of this infusion four times a day.

For diabetes mellitus, use the following decoction: pour one tablespoon of crushed dry branches and blueberry leaves into two glasses of boiling water (400 ml) and heat over low heat for five minutes, then remove from heat, cover, let steep for an hour, strain and take before meals. 100 ml three times a day.

Blueberries - contraindications

As for contraindications, blueberries do not have them, but this does not mean that you can eat kilograms of them. Even foods that are beneficial to the body can be harmful if you forget about the sense of proportion. When overeaten, blueberries can cause nausea, vomiting and even allergic reaction. And an excess of antioxidants can lead to a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the muscles and, as a result, to disruption of the muscle functions of the body.

Berry bushes Heathers (Ericaceae) Plants on G

After this article they usually read

We associate blueberries with the north, swamps covered with snow, from under which cranberries, lingonberries and invisible berries peek out blue color, dull from a waxy coating.

Blueberries are a northern berry, a lover of acidic soils, gradually conquering the southern and middle regions of Russia and the CIS with neutral soils. Why did this berry win the hearts of gardeners so quickly that it becomes a boom in our gardening? Two sentences characterizing its basic biological properties, and everything becomes clear - such a berry is necessary in every dacha, in every garden.

Blueberries have the strongest anti-allergic properties, which is important against the backdrop of increasing allergic dependence of the population.
They effectively increase immunity against most diseases.

Morten Ross

Blueberries are especially necessary for older people as a preventive and therapeutic agent against aging of the body. Berries slow down cell aging, prolong brain function, preserving memory and coordination of movements. Blueberries are classified as dietary products. They help strengthen the walls of blood vessels, have therapeutic effect on the gastrointestinal tract. They have the ability to enhance the effect of drugs taken for diabetes and contain oxidants.

General information about blueberries

Blueberry or Blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) is a typical species of deciduous shrub, which in the Russian version of plant taxonomy is also called bog blueberry, bog blueberry, or low-growing blueberry. Plants belong to the heather family. They have more than 15 folk synonyms, including blueberry, drunkard, blue grapes, gonobob, drunkard, fool and others, most of which do not correspond to its properties (for example, about the intoxicating effect on the body).

The blueberry distribution area covers all northern regions of Russia. Most often, under natural conditions, it is found in swampy places along river banks, forming thickets of many kilometers.

Brief biological description of blueberry

For novice gardeners who want to have this wonderful berry, it is necessary to know its characteristics and external signs, which is especially important when buying secondhand or from unknown sellers.

Common blueberry belongs to the subshrubs and shrubs, growing in height up to 0.5-1.0 meters. Numerous branching shoots that become woody with age form continuous thickets in a spreading carpet. It shoots from the root collar. Annual growth, foliage and fruiting decrease with age.

The blueberry root system is fibrous and occupies the top 15-20 cm layer of soil. The roots do not have absorbent hairs, therefore, for normal growth and development, plants need symbiosis with specific mycorrhiza, through which nutrients are absorbed from the soil.

Blueberry leaves are small (up to 3 cm), oblong, obovate. The location is different. The color is bluish. By autumn, the leaves turn red and fall off, leaving gray berries on the bare branches.

Blueberry flowers are white with a pink tint. The corolla is fused in the shape of a jug, drooping. They bloom from the end of May to the first ten days of June. The flowers are collected in inflorescences of 5-12 pieces and when ripe they resemble a small bunch of grapes, which is why the berry plant received the name blue grapes. Usually the inflorescences are located at the tops of the shoots.

The blueberry fruit is a dark blue berry that acquires a bluish tint when ripe due to a waxy coating. The berries can be round or slightly elongated. Ripening is long, covers July-September and harvesting is carried out in several stages. The shelf life of blueberries on the branches is 10-12 days, after which their intensive shedding begins. Bushes can live in one place, gradually growing, for up to 100 years. They are frost-resistant and can easily tolerate long frosts.

Agricultural technology for growing blueberries

Blueberries are good for cultivation because they practically do not need protection from pests and diseases. Her requirement (sometimes difficult to fulfill) consists of another feature. Blueberries grow only in acidic soils, where pH = 3.5-5.0. There's another one interesting feature. Blueberries do not tolerate flooding of the root system, but grow calmly at the standing height groundwater 30-50 cm from the root system. And one more feature. The culture does not tolerate soils on which for a long time other crops grew, especially with long-term fertilization with organic matter. It is better to use abandoned areas that have not been used by other crops for a long time. This feature is associated with the development of mycorrhiza on blueberry roots.

Choosing a location and planting period for garden blueberries

Depending on the weather conditions of the region, planting 2-3 year old blueberry seedlings can be done in spring or autumn. In the northern regions, it is better to plant seedlings in the spring to protect them from freezing. The above-ground part of the crop can freeze completely at -20..-25*C.

Under natural conditions, blueberries conquer sunny places without constant winds. It is also necessary to ensure appropriate conditions on the site. When grown in an area with insufficient lighting, the berries turn out crushed and sour.

Soils for growing blueberries

Under natural conditions, blueberries grow on sandy, bog, and highland peat bogs (they are more acidified) with a fairly high organic content.

To create appropriate conditions for blueberries on your own plot, especially in regions with neutral acidity soils, it is necessary to artificially acidify the soil in the area of the root system. This is easy to do in regions where there are peatlands and more difficult where there are no appropriate conditions for their formation. How to proceed?

A planting hole of sufficiently large dimensions, 60x60x50-80 cm, is prepared for the blueberries. Good high drainage is arranged at the bottom. In areas with peat bogs, prepare a 1:1 soil mixture with high-moor peat. You can add pine sawdust, sulfur, no more than 60 g per pit, and sand to the peat. It is recommended to check the acidity of the soil mixture with litmus or indicator strips.

If the soil is loamy and heavy, then add a bucket of completely decomposed humus as a leavening agent. Mature compost can be used for these purposes. The mixture is thoroughly mixed and the hole is filled. The inner edges of the pit are loosened. So that over time, a dense “flask” does not form between the soil mixture and the walls of the planting hole, which will become a barrier to the access of water and air in sufficient quantities to the roots of the plants. The soil mixture in the planting hole rests/ripens for 1-2 months and only after that blueberry seedlings can be planted. Mineral fertilizers are not applied during planting.

If there are no peat bogs, they are created artificially. The soil is mixed with organic matter, pine sawdust or pine needles. It is better to use waste pine needles and sand as leavening agents. Dilute 60-70 g of oxalic or citric acid per 10 liters of water. They can be replaced with 9% vinegar, 100 ml or the same amount of apple juice. The acidity of the solution should be no more than 3.5-4.0%. The hole must be filled with soil mixture and a bucket of acidic solution must be poured out. Check the acidity of the resulting soil mass with an indicator or litmus strip. If necessary, you can add an acidic solution. No mineral fertilizers are applied. The soil is left to mature.

Planting blueberry seedlings

Blueberries tend to grow and take over new territories. Therefore, the bushes are planted at a distance of 0.8-1.4-1.5 m. Considering the need for mycorrhiza on the roots for normal establishment of the crop in a new place, seedlings should be purchased in containers with a closed root system. When purchasing, be sure to check whether the container with the blueberry seedling is freshly planted. A true container seedling sits tightly in the container. A freshly planted plant may not have mycorrhiza on the roots, which means it will not take root, especially on artificially created acidic soil.

Before planting, the container with the blueberry seedling is dipped in a container of water for 10-20 minutes. Release from container. Carefully remove the roots from the soil and straighten them.

A blueberry seedling is planted to a depth of 5-6 cm, no deeper than it grew in the container. Straighten the roots of the seedling along the soil cone. Pour water and soil from under the seedling into the hole. Cover with soil and compact slightly. The last 7-8 cm of the planting hole is filled with mulch. Mulch with pine sawdust or collected pine needles. You can use other fine mulch. In winter, mulch performs a root-protective function against freezing and therefore its layer should be sufficient. By autumn - at least 5-8 cm.

Blueberry care

Weeding

Young blueberry bushes have an extremely negative attitude towards contamination by other plants, in particular weeds. Therefore, during the first years, until the crop grows and takes root well, careful frequent but small (5-8 cm) weeding is necessary so as not to damage the roots, which lie in the upper 20-30 cm layer of soil.

Watering blueberries

The soil under the blueberries should be moist until the roots are completely established. Therefore, in the first 1-2 months, watering is carried out every 2-3 days in small portions. When new leaves appear (i.e. the root system has begun to work), watering is reduced to 2-3 times a month, but if the weather is hot and dry, then water at least 2 times a week in the morning or evening hours. During the day, blueberries are cooled by spraying cold water. Adult plants require increased amounts of water during flowering and berry ripening. During this period, they switch to increased watering rates, but without stagnation of water in the root layer (therefore, high-quality drainage is required when planting).

Blueberry feeding

They begin to feed blueberries from the second year after planting. Mineral fertilizers are applied 2 times in the spring. Organic matter cannot be used for fertilizing. The first feeding is carried out during the swelling phase of the buds and again after 1.5 months. Apply 15-20 g of nitrophoska or kemira under a two-year-old bush. The rate of fertilizing is increased annually by 1.2-2.0 times. Soil acidity is monitored annually. When it increases to pH = 5.0, sulfur mixed with sand is added to the mineral fertilizer or acidified water is poured under the root. To acidify the soil, the brine left over from sour cucumbers is sometimes used. Be sure to mulch the soil under blueberry bushes every year, preferably with pine waste or pine needles (since they are acidic). With the second feeding, microelements or complex mineral fertilizers containing them in their composition (kemira and others) are additionally introduced.

David Gaya

Lack of mineral nutrition

Artificial growing conditions do not always meet the crop's needs. Blueberries require increased quantities during harvest formation. mineral nutrition. Their deficiency immediately manifests itself in the appearance of plants.

Nitrogen deficiency- Young blueberry leaves take on a yellowish-green color, while older ones take on a reddish tint. Plants do not develop aboveground mass well.

Phosphorus deficiency- Like other crops, a lack of phosphorus in blueberries manifests itself in reddening of the leaves. The leaf blades are pressed closely against the shoots.

Potassium deficiency- With a lack of potassium, the tops of young blueberry shoots and the tips of leaf blades turn black and die.

Along with the basic nutrients, blueberries react negatively to the lack of other macro- and microelements, especially calcium, boron, iron, magnesium, and sulfur.

Calcium deficiency- With its deficiency, the edges of blueberry leaves turn yellow, and the leaf blades lose their clarity and shape.

Boron deficiency- Boron is essential for blueberry plants. With its deficiency, young apical leaves of the crop acquire a bluish tint, and in old ones the interveinal spaces on the leaves turn yellow. leaf blade. The blueberry stems are gradually dying. There is virtually no annual growth. Plants can be treated with boron separately. Fertilizing is used by foliar application through spraying of plants.

Iron deficiency- The deficiency begins to appear from the apical leaves of blueberries. The leaf turns completely yellow, leaving a network of green veins.

Magnesium deficiency- The blueberry leaf takes on an unusual coloring. The edges of the leaves are red, but a green stripe remains near the veins.

Sulfur deficiency- With a lack of sulfur, blueberry leaves turn white. The transition of colors is from green to yellowish-whitish and white.

If any change occurs in color scheme To color blueberry leaves, it is necessary to carry out foliar feeding with a solution of microelements through spraying.

Blueberry pruning and rejuvenation

IN at a young age(about 4-6 years, sometimes, with slow growth- 7-8) carry out only sanitary pruning once a year until the bud swelling phase. Sick, crooked, underdeveloped, frozen and creeping blueberry stems and shoots are cut out.

Starting from 6-8-12 years of age, anti-aging pruning of blueberries is carried out. It is best to carry it out over 2-3 years, gradually cutting off old branches. If you cut off all the old branches at once (this is also an acceptable method of rejuvenation), then while the young ones begin to bear fruit, the bush will form a low annual yield.

Protecting blueberries from freezing

The aboveground part of blueberries is still sensitive to cold temperatures. Within -18..-20°С young tops, and during long periods without snow low temperatures- and the entire above-ground mass can freeze. To prevent this from happening, for the winter the plants are bent as far as possible so as not to break the branches, and covered with burlap or lutrasil. Film cannot be used. Spruce branches or crumbly snow are thrown over the shelter. In the spring, after removing the coverings, before the buds swell, sanitary pruning is carried out, removing the frozen tops of the stems.

Protecting blueberries from diseases and pests

Blueberries are practically not damaged by pests and diseases. However, upon manifestation external signs powdery mildew, fungal rot or other diseases, aphid damage, the same protective measures are taken as in other berry fields, using only biological products for treatments.

Blueberry harvest

Blueberry flowers can easily tolerate short-term frosts down to -7*C and therefore do not need special protective shelters.

Early varieties of blueberries form a harvest at technical ripeness by the first ten days of July, middle and late varieties - with a lag of 1-2 weeks. The external manifestation of the ripeness of the berries is a blue-violet color with a waxy coating. Ripe berries are easily separated from the bunch. Maturation is gradual. The berries fall off after a 2-week waiting period. Cleaning ends by the end of August. Mature bushes produce up to 5 kg of berries.

The berries are stored fresh for 4-5 weeks. Used in fresh and processed form. They prepare compotes, juices, preserves, jams, etc.

Which blueberry variety to choose for your garden

At the dacha, we can recommend for growing varieties of garden blueberries, bred by breeders specifically for the conditions of Russia. They are usually frost-resistant, easy to care for and do not require annual coverings. They have large berries with a sweet and sour taste. The crop belongs to the group of cross-pollinated ones, so you need to plant at least 2 - 3 varieties. In cold regions they take root well and bear fruit. Taiga beauty, Blue scattering, Nectar, Yurkovskaya, Marvelous and others.

For the middle zone, you can use blueberry varieties early date maturation of foreign selection:

Weymouth– ripening period is the end of July, frost-resistant, practically does not freeze.
Rancocas– the ripening period coincides with the Weymouth variety. Compared to Weymouth (0.9 m) it is higher - up to 1.5 m in height.

Of the mid-ripening varieties, the blueberry variety is worthy of attention. Blue Ray. Tall bushes, ripening of the main crop from mid-August to mid-September (alternately early varieties). Bushes up to 180 cm tall. The variety is distinguished by the color of the berries - with a light blue tint. It should be noted that foreign varieties differ from Russian ones in their reduced frost resistance and in winter they necessarily require shelter.

Among gardeners who are fond of blueberries, the variety is widespread Coville. Obtained as a result of hybridization of American varieties. More than 100 varieties of this type are used in plantings around the world with for different periods ripening and yield, which reaches up to 8 kg per bush. Can grow in partial shade, but still prefers bright sunny places. Excellent in a hedge. Winter hardiness is high, but it suffers from freezing in winters with little snow and during long frosts without snow it needs shelter.

Dear reader! Blueberries are firmly included in the list of our berries. Please share your experience of growing and caring for this miracle berry.

Preface

If you want blueberries to grow on your site, the planting and care of which is quite simple and straightforward, carefully study our tips. We will help you choose seedlings, tell you about planting bushes, feeding them and pruning them.

The success of growing garden blueberries largely depends on suitable soil. The main condition is that the soil must be acidic. The plant can also grow well on sand, sandy loam substrates enriched with rotted leaf litter, which will lead to improved fertility. But if your site is famous for clayey and heavy soils, you can plant blueberries only on mounds with a base of drainage layer.

A suitable soil mixture can be created using bark, sawdust, foliage, and acidic peat. And to acidify the soil, use vinegar, citric acid or sulfur.

Suitable soil mixture for planting a bush

It is better not to plant the plant in lowlands - excess moisture can harm the plant. It is also important that the soil is saturated with oxygen, otherwise the roots will begin to rot and the plant will die. In addition, cold air usually accumulates in the lowlands, which is why blueberries may simply freeze during frosts in early spring. It is also important to choose the right location.

To plant blueberries, select a sunny area protected from the wind. In this case, the tall blueberry bushes will be quite large and will produce a lot of harvest. If you plant the plant in a dark place, the harvest will be small and the berries will not be as tasty.

When choosing a landing time, do not forget that experienced gardeners It is recommended to plant large seedlings in the fall, and small and weak ones in the spring. When purchasing a seedling in a pot, it must be placed in water for at least 15-20 minutes before planting in the ground. Then we dig a planting hole about 40 cm deep and about 80 cm wide. Don’t forget to prepare a soil mixture from acidic peat, fallen pine needles, and you can add humus. Also add about 50 g of sulfur to the mixture.

Blueberry seedlings in pots

After this, carefully remove the bush from the pot so as not to damage the root system. We straighten the roots themselves so that after planting they grow and develop normally. Then plant the seedling in the hole and sprinkle the root part with soil to eliminate voids, fill the hole with the prepared soil mixture and water the blueberry bush. Don’t forget to mulch with sawdust, cones, bark, etc. in a layer of 8–10 cm.

If you are going to plant several plants, then remember that when planting tall blueberries in several rows, the distance between the bushes should be about a meter, for low-growing blueberries - about 0.5 meters. When choosing seedlings, it is better to choose two or three year old bushes with a closed root system, and to increase productivity, it is better to plant blueberries nearby different varieties.

Caring for blueberries is quite simple, since this plant is not capricious and will not require your constant presence. It is very important not to forget about regular weeding of bushes, especially young ones - weeds can lead to the death of the plant. Loosening the soil around the bushes is very important, but you need to remember that blueberry roots lie at a depth of about 20-40 cm, so loosening should be carried out to a depth of no more than 10 cm.

Loosening the soil around the bushes

During the growing season, you need to mulch the area around the tree trunks at least twice, using rotted manure and sawdust. Caring for blueberries also involves constant monitoring of the water regime. This is due to the fact that blueberries are a plant that needs moisture. This is why it is so important to ensure that the soil never dries out, especially while the seedling has not yet taken root - after planting, you will have to stick to watering twice or three times a day for several weeks.

In the future, during dry weather, water blueberries only twice a week, watering either in the early morning or in the evening. If the weather is too hot outside, it is necessary not only to water, but also to spray the bushes with water.

How to properly trim and shape blueberries?

Pruning garden highbush blueberries is a very important process. Proper formation of the bush will not only renew the appearance of the bush, but will also lead to increased productivity. Young bushes should not be pruned, only in early spring to remove diseased and frozen shoots. A couple of years after planting, anti-aging pruning can be done. The work can be done in several ways:

The first method is to completely remove all old shoots during the season. The disadvantage of this method is that the next few years the yield from the bushes will be quite low.
The second method is to prune the bush step by step. In the first year, you need to remove some of the old shoots, leaving the rest for fruiting. And next year, when new branches grow, we remove the remaining old shoots.

In order for garden blueberries to grow better and produce good yields, your plant care should include high-quality fertilizing. But here it should be remembered that it is best to use mineral fertilizers, and organic fertilizers are contraindicated for this plant. It is recommended to do it twice in the spring. The first application of fertilizers should be carried out when the buds are swollen, the second - after two months. At the same time, you can feed garden blueberries in the second year after growing.

Mineral fertilizer for berry bushes

By the way, according to appearance For blueberries, it’s easy enough to understand exactly what mineral fertilizers it lacks. Let's study the symptoms of a lack of elements to provide high-bush blueberry bushes with proper care:

with a lack of nitrogen fertilizers, the growth of branches begins to slow down, the leaves become yellow, and the berries become smaller;
if the plant lacks phosphorus, the leaves turn purple and begin to fall off;
when blueberries lack potassium, the tips of the leaves slowly die and spots appear on them, as well distinctive feature the tips of the shoots become blackened;
with a lack of calcium, blueberry leaves change shape and become yellow at the edges;
if the bushes lack magnesium, the leaves turn red;
when a plant does not have enough boron, the leaves become blue, the branches stop growing and die over time;
When there is not enough sulfur, blueberry leaves turn white.

Therefore, it is very important to occasionally inspect the garden blueberry bushes - if you notice the symptoms we have listed in time, it is quite possible to quickly compensate for the deficiency of elements and revive the plant.

The most terrible disease of garden blueberries is shoot burn or stem cancer. This disease quite quickly leads to the death of young seedlings and causes the death of shoots in old plants, reducing productivity. The first signs of stem cancer usually appear in winter on the last growths - on the shoots themselves you can see reddish spots, which become larger over time, take on an oval shape and ultimately cause the death of the branch. The leaves of diseased bushes turn bright brown long before the fall color change occurs. In summer, stem cancer causes round brown spots with red dots in the middle to appear on the leaves.

To avoid this disease, you should avoid planting garden blueberries on lands with excessive moisture, and you should also not overfeed the plant. Having noticed the first signs of cancer, cut off the affected leaves with shoots and burn them so that the disease does not spread to other garden crops.

There are also a number of other diseases that are caused by the appearance of fungus. To control them, spray blueberry bushes with a suitable fungicide during the growing season. There are diseases caused by viruses: viral dwarfism, mosaic, red ring spot, cord virus. Unfortunately, dealing with them is quite difficult, in some cases even impossible. It is best to burn diseased bushes and choose varieties for planting that are resistant to such diseases.

Failures when growing blueberries in a summer cottage occur quite often. But what is their reason? After all, the plant feels great in the wild, where no one around it is dancing with fertilizers or a bucket of water. Or is this exactly the case?! Website website will tell you how not to overdo it and not make mistakes in the heat of the moment.

7 mistakes in which planting and caring for blueberries does not bring results

1 error:

Blueberries grow in a swamp, so planting blueberries must be in a lowland where water stagnates, or it is necessary to create conditions when planting garden blueberries is carried out in soils with increased soil moisture.

In no case! Blueberries grow on the edges of swamps or on hummocks, where drought is more likely than excess moisture. Roots need not only water, but also air to breathe. This is very important for blueberries. In addition, in the lowlands there are often frosts, which damage young shoots, flowers, ovaries, and berries in the fall. Therefore, if you want to know how to plant blueberries correctly, then the bush should be planted in areas with moderate moisture, where the threat of frost is minimal. Also, do not allow water to stagnate.

Error 2:

I have on garden plot acidic soil because it is on a peat bog, and horse sorrel and woodlice grow on it.

Horse sorrel and chickweed tend to grow in slightly acidic soil (pH 6.0 - 6.5), while blueberries need moderately acidic soil with a pH of 4.5 - 5.5. In addition, the presence of peat is not an indicator, because it can be high-moor (acidic) and low-lying (slightly acidic). Therefore, it is imperative to check the pH level.

In summer cottages with a pH above 5.5, blueberries grow poorly and have light green leaves. The reason for this phenomenon is insufficient absorption of nitrogen, primarily due to the fact that in such cases mycorrhiza does not work on the roots of the bush.

Error 3:

In nature, blueberry bushes grow under the forest canopy, which means you need to look for a shady place for it in the garden.

Blueberries will indeed grow in the shade, but will not bear fruit. To form a harvest, it needs a sufficient amount of sunlight. Therefore, planting blueberries in the spring is required in a well-lit, but at the same time protected from the wind place.

Error 4:

We do everything right, but blueberries don’t grow.

The reason may be:

Garden blueberries were planted in an area where potatoes or other plants grew vegetable crops. Remember that only perennial herbs are favorable predecessors for shrubs. Also, the plant can be planted only in areas where no fertilizer has been applied for 5 years.
Incorrect landing. As a rule, gardeners strive to purchase a bush with big amount branches and in a smaller pot to make it convenient to transport. Due to the tightness, the roots of such a seedling are densely woven and wrapped inward. And if you want to know how to plant blueberries in the spring in this case, then before planting you need to put the pot with the plant in water, after 10 - 15 minutes remove the pot, and stretch the roots with your hands, divide and spread them horizontally in the planting hole. If you do not do this manipulation, the roots will not be able to straighten out on their own, and as a result, the root system will not grow. Having dug up such a bush after a few years, you will see that the roots are still the same pot as when planting. Therefore, do not be surprised that after a while the plant will die.

Error 5:

It’s good to feed blueberry bushes, but for some reason they just died.

Blueberries do not need large doses of fertilizers, and especially do not like organic fertilizers (manure, bird droppings, etc.), which contain a lot of nitrogen. They can simply burn the plant. Fertilizing blueberries in spring and early summer is possible only with mineral fertilizers.

How to feed blueberries in spring? Suitable fertilizers for heather, Kemira Universal, Mortar or any other acidic, complete mineral fertilizer. Blueberry feeding is applied as follows:

for a two-year-old bush 1 tablespoon;
under three years - 2;
for four years - 4;
five-year-old - 8;
six years old and older - 16 tablespoons of fertilizer.

Error 6:

The pit was prepared correctly, but the blueberries refuse to grow.

The reason that planting and caring for blueberries does not produce results may be:

Excess water. The recommendations, as a rule, refer to sandy soils, sandy loams, peat bogs, that is, land into which water and air easily penetrate. And often gardeners arrange “wells” with acidic soil on clayey areas without taking care of good drainage. As a result, during rains or frequent watering, water accumulates in them, which deprives the roots of air, the root system suffocates, dies, and then the entire bush dies.
Lack of nutrition due to natural deoxidation of the soil due to rain, the influx of moisture from the lower layers of the soil, and watering. If the pH of the water used to water the plants is above 5.5, then over time the acidity of the soil will also become higher. Blueberry bushes should be watered with acidified water at least once a month. For acidification, you can use acetic or malic acid (100 ml of 9% vinegar is diluted in 10 liters of water), citric acid(1 teaspoon per 3 liters of water).

Error 7:

Loosening the soil around the bushes.

The root system of blueberries is shallow, almost entirely in the top layer of soil up to 25 cm deep. When weeding, you should not use a hoe or other devices, as they damage the roots, which are then not restored.

Proper care of blueberries in terms of loosening is as follows. You can loosen the soil around blueberries no deeper than 3 cm. It is better to mulch the surface with sawdust in a layer of 5 - 8 cm. In this case, growing blueberries solves a number of problems. Firstly, mulch will get rid of weeds, and secondly, it will regulate water-air and temperature regime top layer of soil (will not dry out and overheat), thirdly, it will improve the illumination of the bush, fourthly, it will help fight diseases.

How to grow blueberries in your garden. Features of care.

To obtain regular good harvests of blueberries and large berries, it is necessary to prune the bushes, starting from the age of six. Cut out all the low, empty branches that thicken the bush. Then all branches older than 7-8 years are removed (six-year-old branches are also possible). Of the large annual shoots, 3 to 5 of the strongest and healthiest shoots are left, the rest are cut out.

For the winter, it is advisable to provide protection against hares. They love to eat annual shoots. To do this, just cover the bushes with spruce branches. In winter, in the absence of snow cover and frost below - 23 ... - 25 degrees, garden blueberries must be covered. In spring and autumn, it is better to treat it with fungicides to protect against diseases. In early spring, it is necessary to carry out a general eradication treatment (polycarbacin - 1% solution; Bordeaux mixture, Rovral - 1% solution). After the leaves bloom, you can spray the bushes three times with an interval of 7 - 10 days with a 0.2% solution of one of the fungicides: Topsin M, Cuprozan, Euparen, Benomil, Rovral. In the fall, after harvesting the berries, also carry out three sprays with fungicides, and after the leaves fall, one eradication treatment.

" Blueberry

Blueberries are called “black pearls”, “the berry of millionaires”, but they are also considered the “berry of intellectuals”. Garden blueberries are a rather demanding crop, but you can find a common language with them too.. The cultivation techniques to which we are accustomed are absolutely not applicable to it: manure, ash and occasional watering. This shrub will not grow well without an acidic, loose and moist substrate.

Blueberry is a small shrub, usually about 1 meter in height.. Has curved, smooth branches gray shade. The leaves reach a length of 3 cm. The flowers are quite small, five-toothed, white or pink. The berries themselves have Blue colour and a bluish coating. The fruits of the bush are edible, very juicy and sweet.

Blueberries have several popular names: blueberry, fool, drunken berry, drunkard, etc.

Differences between blueberries and blueberries

Blueberries and blueberries belong to the same family., but there are still some differences between them.

The blueberry bush is usually shorter than the blueberry bush.. Also, blueberries are characterized by soft stems, while blueberries are harder. At the same time, the color of blueberry stems is lighter.
Another difference is how each shrub grows. Blueberry bush grows very close to the ground, practically creeps. While the blueberry bush grows vertically.
Blueberries can grow almost anywhere, including those who are not very rich beneficial properties soils at home. And blueberries grow mainly in pine forests.
Berry juice blueberries have a rather dark tint, and the juice from blueberries will be colorless.
The most difficult thing to distinguish the fruits of these shrubs is external and taste qualities. Externally, blueberries have much more dark color berries and a white coating on them. More rich in taste. And blueberry fruits are larger in size, oblong, and they are also much lighter than blueberry fruits. Blueberries have a more neutral, sour taste.
Another difference is berry pulp color. In blueberries it has a dark blue tint, while in blueberries it is greenish.

These two bushes - blueberries and blueberries - are very similar to each other, but they can still be distinguished from each other.

Where do blueberries grow and when should you pick the fruits?

Blueberries grow in completely different areas. This shrub is so unpretentious that it can bear fruit well even on poor soils. Common blueberry is most common in the territories of Siberia, the Urals, as well as in the forests of western Russia. In the swamps, in the shade, blueberries ripen the largest.

Blueberries ripen in mid-summer and can be harvested until late August - early September. Some people use with a special machine for picking blueberries. This is not entirely correct, because in this way you can damage the fruits when picking them, as well as the root system. It is better to collect berries manually.

Is it possible to grow blueberries in a summer cottage?

You can plant blueberries in your summer cottage. Today it is known a large number of varieties of garden blueberries, the most popular: Patriot, Bluray, Duke, North Country and others. But, if you do not take into account a number of features of growing this shrub, then an attempt to obtain good harvest may not be successful.

Planting garden blueberries

When planting blueberries in your summer cottage, you need to pay special attention to some growing features this bush.

Selection of seedlings

It is very important that the seedlings are healthy and their leaves are green and free of spots. If the purchase of seedlings is carried out in spring or late autumn, when the foliage has already fallen and there is no way to accurately determine whether the leaves are healthy, then you should pay special attention to the bark. On the branches it should be without characteristic spots of burgundy or Brown, which indicates any diseases of the plant. But there are situations when it is not possible to look at the condition of the seedlings, for example, if they were ordered by mail. In the event that any defects were eventually discovered, then you can simply cut off diseased branches to healthy tissue. You can also grow seedlings yourself from blueberry seeds.

You cannot buy blueberry seedlings with an open root system. The plant should grow in a pot or container with an acidic substrate.

Choosing a place to plant in the country

Blueberries love the sun and do not like the wind. The place should be open and sunny. To protect from the wind from the north side, you can use a fence, an agro-fabric screen or a hedge. A 1 m high fence breaks the wind at 10 m, that is, behind such a fence there will be no strong wind, which manages to wear off the bark on the branches, where infection can then easily enter. Ripening berries lose their delicious blue tinge due to the wind and are poorly stored.

Substrate for blueberries, preparing the hole for planting

You need to dig out the planting hole and not use all the selected soil. Because probably ash, manure or bird droppings were once introduced into the garden, and blueberries absolutely cannot stand this. It is necessary to fence off the dug hole with boards and logs(this must be done so that in the future it will be easier to maintain the necessary humidity, as well as the acidity of the soil) and fill it with a substrate prepared in advance from high red peat, sand, bark, pine litter, and old sawdust.

You need to take half a sugar bag for each component. This amount is enough for one bush. On light soils, where there is no likelihood of water stagnation, dig a hole 55 cm deep and 70-80 cm wide. On heavy loamy soils, you need to make the hole wider and less deep (30 cm) and plant the bushes on a small hill (it is important not to forget to fence and mulch after planting).

Planting process

Before planting blueberries, pots with shrubs should be immersed in a container of water for 3-4 hours so that the earthen ball with roots is saturated with moisture.

If the blueberry root ball is not soaked and kneaded before planting, the plant will not grow and there will be no harvest.

After soaking, the plant must be carefully removed from the pot. Then you need to turn the bush with its roots up and cut the root ball crosswise from the bottom or knead it with your hands. Blueberries have very thin roots, Americans call them “angel hair,” and in order for them to grow to the sides, it is precisely the actions described above that need to be performed.

Then the blueberry bush needs to be immersed in the hole prepared before planting, spread the roots to the sides and covered with the prepared substrate. You need to make a hole around the bush and water it until it is completely saturated with water. After that the hole must be mulched with bark, pine litter or straw(layer 8-10 cm) to reduce the amount of evaporated moisture and maintain the looseness of the substrate. In addition, soil bacteria, processing this mulch, form citric and acetic acids, which are so necessary for blueberries.

Transplanting blueberries to a new place

It is necessary to replant garden blueberries to the same depth at which they were in the previous place, while it is allowed to lower the plant deeper than the previous level by 3-5 centimeters to cover all roots. It is advisable to dig up at the age of two, when the seedling reaches 50 cm in length and looks quite strong. Before digging, it is necessary to remove all green shoots and flower buds.

It is necessary to plant shrubs at a distance of 1.0 to 1.5 m from each other within the same row. The permissible distance between rows is from 1.5 to 3.0 m, depending on the available space and the desired aisle width.

When transplanting to a new place, you should not immediately fertilize the soil. During the first year, as soon as the first green leaves and shoots appear, a special fertilizer or 2 ounces of azalea fertilizer can be used. In case of heavy rainfall, after 2-3 months you can apply fertilizer again in small doses. Fertilizer should be evenly distributed over the soil surface with a radius of 20-30 cm from the plant itself.

Blueberry care

How to feed correctly

It is recommended to feed blueberries starting from 2 years of age.. Feeding should be introduced gradually. For this purpose, mineral fertilizers should be used. They contain everything necessary microelements and nutrients in the required quantities.

Garden blueberries need to be fertilized every spring. Proper growth and development of shrubs requires regular feeding with minerals..

Nitrogen fertilizers needed to stimulate the growth and formation of the fruits of this shrub. Typically, blueberries require about 55 g of this fertilizer. At the same time, the plant needs to be fed with magnesium. Feeding shrubs with nitrogen fertilizers costs about three times per season. The very first feeding is carried out in the spring, before the buds swell. It will require about half of the total amount of feeding calculated for the entire season. The second feeding is done at the end of May. And the third portion of fertilizer is introduced into the soil in June.

Phosphorus fertilizers necessary to provide the plant with the necessary substances for stability and viability, as well as to improve the yield. For good nutrition One blueberry bush requires about 30 g of phosphorus. This fertilizer should be introduced into the soil in 2 stages. The first feeding should be done in April, and the second in early June.
Potash fertilizers needed to increase the frost resistance of the plant. And also for protection against drought. In addition, this type of feeding protects blueberries from a variety of diseases and pests. The plant requires about 35 g of potassium fertilizer per year. You need to feed blueberries with this fertilizer according to the same principle as with phosphate fertilizers.

Preparing for winter

This garden plant tolerates the cold season well. But there is still a risk of frostbite in the bushes during very severe frosts. To avoid such unpleasant consequences, you can prepare blueberries for winter in advance. What is the preparation?

Too much nitrogen can cause young shoots to fail to ripen. This happens because the shoots remain too dense and the entire bush may not survive the winter.

Fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers should be carried out only in spring or early summer. Blueberries cannot be fed in the fall.

How to care for blueberries autumn period? In autumn it is necessary to provide blueberries with moisture. The soil should be saturated with moisture to a depth of 35 cm. For bushes that are 3 or 4 years old, about 5 buckets of water are needed.

Blueberries feel comfortable in cold temperatures down to -7 degrees.

When and how to prune bushes

Blueberry fruits develop on last year's growth. That is why Blueberry bushes should only be trimmed in early spring, before the buds open.. You should not do this in the fall, as there is a possibility of cutting off high-quality, good branches with fruit buds. In this case, there will be no harvest next year.

Pruning tall blueberry bushes - important point in the process of caring for the plant. The process of pruning bushes should begin when the plant reaches three years of age.. This is necessary in order to form a strong skeleton of the berry plant. Only small growths that are located at the base of the plant, as well as branches affected by any diseases, should be trimmed.

Blueberry pruning plan:

just need to trim branches growing close to the ground and maintain erect branches;
if in the middle of a bush branches are too dense, then you should find weak and old growths among them and cut them off;
Almost all small growths need to be trimmed, leaving the largest, densest skeletal branches and strong shoots.

Watering rules

The soil needs to be watered so that not only the soil around the blueberries is moist, but also the lump of earth in which the blueberries grew in the pot is saturated with water (even if it was actively disturbed before). Otherwise, this lump of earth, densely entwined with roots, will remain dry in the planting hole. The soil around the bush will be moist, and the blueberries will suffer from a lack of it. Therefore, it is very important to frequently observe the blueberries until it is noticed that they have begun to actively grow shoots (summer growth of 50-70 cm indicates that the blueberries have taken root).

It is important that when you squeeze the earth in your hand, you feel moisture, but water should not flow.

To grow this shrub in the country, it is advisable to use drip irrigation.

Blueberries are pretty unpretentious plant and does not require any special care. You should follow some rules for planting, watering and caring for this shrub. in order to ultimately obtain a large amount of high-quality harvest.