Planting blueberries. Features of planting and subtleties of caring for garden blueberries in the country

Garden blueberry- a tall deciduous shrub native to North America. Unlike cold-resistant species, the cultivation of American blueberries is suitable for zones with temperate and warm climates. The bush reaches a height of two meters and produces up to 10 kg of berries, which makes growing blueberries profitable even in the country house or garden.

Planting and caring for garden blueberries is not very difficult. The plant is demanding on soil composition, heat and light. All these needs must be taken into account immediately when choosing a site, because blueberries are long-lived and can grow and bear fruit in one place for several decades.

Tasty and healthy berry

Blueberry is a shrub that grows up to 1 meter in height. In high mountain areas it grows like low bush. The shoots are oblong, pubescent in the initial period of growth. The leaves are elliptical, slightly folded at the edges, bluish-green, matte on top.

Green or whitish flowers appear at the tops of the side branches. Blooms in May. The berries are spherical, purple-black, with a blue waxy coating.

The shrub grows in swamps, swampy forests, and on infertile soils containing little humus. In the mountains it grows at high altitudes. The berry has excellent taste and nutritional value and is rich in vitamins. It is important to know how to plant blueberries correctly, prepare the soil for planting, and how to care for blueberries.

Landing rules

When choosing plants, you need to take into account the variety’s compliance with the agroclimatic conditions of the region. Choosing a location and preparing the soil is quite simple, but with only one blueberry variety, it is difficult to create conditions for high-quality cross-pollination. You should plant at least 2-3 plants of different varieties nearby. Shrubs located nearby will lead to better fruiting and early ripening of the crop. It should be taken into account that without insect pollination, blueberry fruits are smaller and have thick skin. It is advisable to cultivate honey plants next to the berry garden, which attract insects well.

Landing time

Varietal seedlings fruit bushes always sold in plastic boxes or pots. This is the most convenient planting material. Plants can be grown at home until the planting site is prepared. To achieve good results, it is important when to plant blueberries. You can replant the seedling to a permanent place throughout the growing season. Planting garden blueberries with closed roots is similar to transshipment potted plant from smaller to larger capacity. The lump of substrate protects the roots from damage, which allows the 2-3 year old seedling to quickly adapt to new conditions.

It is better to replant adult bushes in the fall, after leaf fall. Prepare a planting hole or trench in advance and fill it with prepared substrate so that the soil has time to settle.

Soil preparation

Well-drained, light, peaty-sandy, loamy soils are favorable for berries. Substrate acidity is from 3.5 to 4.8 units. All heather crops grow well only in acidic soils; a neutral, and even more so alkaline, environment is unfavorable for plants. This feature is due to the fact that the fibrous root of the plant functions in symbiosis with fungal mycelium.

Important! Mycorrhiza is a form of symbiosis between plants and fungi in which nutrients are exchanged. Mushroom mycelium actively develops only in an acidic environment.

The soil mixture is prepared from:

• peat;
• sand;
• sawdust;
• fallen leaves, pine needles;
• tree bark.

The components are mixed by adding 40-60 g of sulfur.

A solution of citric, acetic, and malic acid also helps to bring the acidity of the soil to 3.5-4.5 units. A cheaper option is battery electrolyte, 5 ml of which is diluted in 1 liter of water. To prepare the hole you will need 1.5-2 buckets of solution.

Planting in spring

A place for blueberries is selected that is sunny, on a hill; it is advisable that the land in this place be fallow for several years. In addition to illumination, one should take into account the level groundwater. In areas where flooding and stagnation of water are possible, drainage must be installed. The feeding area for tall varieties should be 1.5-2 square meters. m. When planting several plants, planting holes are dug at a distance of 1.2-1.5 m from each other, with a diameter of 60 cm and a depth of 40-50 cm. The bottom is lined with a thick layer of rotted leaves, and prepared soil is laid on top.

The seedlings are transplanted to a permanent location after a couple of weeks, when the soil has settled. First, containers with seedlings are placed in a container with water for 15 minutes. A well-moistened lump is easier to remove without damaging the small and fine blueberry roots. It is advisable to carefully straighten the pressed roots in order to change the direction of their growth in the horizontal direction. The seedling is placed in a dug hole and sprinkled with the removed soil. The soil is lightly compacted, watered and mulched with sawdust in a layer of 5-8 cm.

Important! When there is insufficient light, the berries become smaller and fewer flower buds are formed, which affects next year’s harvest.

Planting in autumn

In the fall, when part of the site is completely cleared, you can transplant the blueberries to a new place or add a new variety to the old bushes. It is advisable to prepare the soil in advance and fill the planting holes with it. The work must be carried out on time - this is the main feature of planting blueberries in the fall. Plants must get used to their new location before the onset of a steady cold spell, and for this they will need 30-45 days. For adult plants, the fall of leaves serves as a signal that they are ready for replanting. For the winter, the plantings are mulched and covered with spruce branches.

Growing garden blueberries

Blueberries are quite unpretentious; at the initial stage, after planting, caring for blueberries comes down to timely watering and weeding. In subsequent periods, when the plant takes root and begins to grow, additional care will be required, which will include annual pruning, protection from pests and diseases.

Watering

The top, root-inhabited layer of soil under fruit bushes should always be kept moist.

1. Water blueberries generously - 1-2 buckets of water per bush, twice a week.
2. In hot weather, it is advisable to spray blueberries to reduce leaf stress from overheating.
3. Sufficient watering of adult bushes is especially important during the period of fruiting and bud formation.

In case of drought and lack of watering, blueberry fruits become smaller, the yield of this and the next season is reduced.

Top dressing

The plant is not demanding on fertility, however, the use of mineral fertilizers for blueberries replenishes useful substances washed out of the soil during watering.

• ammonium sulfate – 90 g;
• superphosphate – 110 g;
• potassium sulfate – 40 g.

The norm is calculated for 1 fruiting bush. Fertilizing is carried out twice during the growing season, every 6-7 weeks.

When grown on garden plot It is advisable to use a simpler method of feeding, using complex mineral fertilizers.

Important! When feeding blueberries, it is completely prohibited to use any organic fertilizers.

Trimming

A technique such as pruning seriously affects the growth and development of the bush. With its help you can change the quality of blueberries and the quantity of the harvest.

Annual pruning is carried out after 4 years of life.

1. Thinning the shoots is carried out, cutting the middle, and removing dry branches.
2. Remove spreading, low-lying branches along the entire perimeter. Only erect, strong growths are left.
3. Thin, small branches are cut to provide adequate lighting and nutrition for strong, skeletal shoots.

Pruning fruit-bearing bushes has a specific purpose. To obtain large berries, remove all branches older than five years. If yield is important, then it is permissible to preserve shoots until the age of 6-7 years. Of the annual growths, no more than 5 of the strongest are left.

Important! After flowering, large doses of nitrogen are not applied to the bushes, which provoke excessive shoot growth in the fall. Growths that do not have time to ripen do not tolerate wintering well.

Blueberries in autumn

After harvesting and leaf fall, blueberries should be prepared for winter.

1. Broken eyelids and fallen leaves need to be removed. At the slightest sign of fungal diseases, diseased shoots and foliage are burned.
2. If autumn is dry, then intensive watering is carried out to saturate the root layer with moisture. To do this, pour up to 6 buckets of water under each bush.
3. The ground under the bushes is mulched. When using fresh sawdust, plants will need additional nitrogen. Fertilizing blueberries in the fall should restore its deficiency. Microorganisms that decompose sawdust intensively absorb nitrogen from the soil.
4. In a region with low winter temperatures, blueberry bushes receive additional protection from any available materials, except polyethylene film. This can be spruce branches, burlap, spunbond, pieces of foam rubber.

Blueberry care autumn period includes protection against rodent infestation. Overwintering under a layer of mulch, mice chew off the bark and dig up the roots. It is necessary to set traps and spread poison in the places of their possible habitat in the fall.

Blueberry propagation

Blueberries are propagated vegetatively or by seeds.

Obtaining seedlings from seeds is a lengthy process, and the characteristics of the garden blueberry variety are not preserved. It will be possible to identify the advantages and disadvantages of a plant only after receiving the first harvest, which may take 5-6 years. This method is suitable for amateurs breeding work. It is much more convenient for the gardener to propagate the plant he likes by cuttings, while the varietal characteristics are fully preserved.

Pests

High-growing blueberries can be slightly damaged by insects that eat leaves and buds and feed on plant sap.

It can be:

• pine silkworm caterpillars;
• leaf rollers;
• scale insects;

Used against insects chemicals, it is enough to collect the caterpillars by hand.

Greater damage can be caused by birds that attack berry fields during the ripening period. To protect blueberries, they are covered with fine mesh, shiny objects are attached to the branches, and sound cannons are installed.

Diseases

The most common and similar in appearance are stem cancer and drying out of branches. Blueberries are also affected by such a common disease as gray rot. To combat fungal diseases, plants are sprayed three times before and after flowering with a 0.2% solution of topsin or euparene. All damaged branches must be promptly pruned and burned.

Diseases of a mycoplasma or viral nature pose a great danger to varietal blueberries. These include red and necrotic spotting, dwarfism, and mosaic. Such diseases are extremely rare, but when diagnosed, plants must be destroyed.

Preventive means of combating pathogens that cause blueberry disease are basic agricultural techniques. Thanks to regular weeding, mulching the soil, timely watering and fertilizing, the plant will fully develop and be able to resist diseases.

Growing berry bushes in summer cottages has long been a tradition, but some of them are just gaining popularity among gardeners. This is blueberry, the planting and care of which has its own characteristics. You will have to pay a lot of attention to the shrubs in the garden, but it will pay off handsomely when the time comes to harvest the delicious sweet and sour berries. Not only blueberry fruits, but also its branches and leaves have healing properties. Propagation of this amazingly useful plant will not cause difficulties even for novice gardeners.

Blueberry varieties

The types and varieties of blueberries are varied. Its uncultivated specimens are short in stature. Their height ranges from 40-100 cm. Wild blueberries are widespread in the northern regions. It prefers moist, swampy soils of coniferous forests and peat bogs, where it forms dense thickets.

Growing wild specimens of the crop in a summer cottage is a pointless exercise. For these purposes, it is better to use seedlings of hybrid varieties of shrubs. The answer to the question why is obvious. Keeping beneficial features wild blueberries, they bring more harvest, have more large berries, have increased decorative properties and are less affected by diseases and pests. Among them are low-growing varieties, which are ideal for breeding in the Urals and Siberia. They are not afraid of severe frosts, and they are not damaged even under a thick layer of snow.

Tall garden blueberry bushes stretch up to 2-4 m. It originates from North America. In our country, it is more common in the southern regions. The climate of Siberia is too harsh for it, although it can be grown in open ground in the Urals if you take a responsible approach to preparing its bushes for wintering: bend the branches to the ground and carefully cover them with spruce branches. Canadian blueberries, which have narrow leaves, are becoming increasingly popular among gardeners. It is surprisingly unpretentious, generous in yield and has increased frost resistance.

The most common varieties of highbush blueberries are:

• Bluecrop;
• Nelson;
• Rancocas;
• Patriot;
• Northland;
• Weymouth.

IN industrial scale the most commonly grown varieties are Bluecrop and Patriot. You can plant them in your dacha. Both varieties are distinguished by high productivity and unpretentiousness to living conditions.

Site requirements

In order for the plant's berries to gain sweetness, they need a lot of heat and light. Therefore, planting garden blueberries is optimal in places open to sunlight. It should be borne in mind that shrubs do not react well to drafts. The site must be carefully protected from them by the walls of buildings or a hedge of trees. The Bluecrop and Patriot varieties can grow in the shade; their leaves will not be damaged by it, but in this case the berries collected from them will be sour. The lack of light will also have a negative impact on their number.

For blueberries, loose, well-drained soils with low groundwater levels are preferred. It will be correct to plant it on peaty-sandy or peaty-loamy soils. It is worth remembering that such soil is rich in nitrogen. Due to the increased content of this element, plants may freeze in winter, and with the arrival of spring, their thawing will take longer than usual. The shrub develops well only in acidic soil with a pH in the range of 3.5-4.5.

It is important that no other crops have been previously grown in the area where blueberries are planned to be placed. If there is no such area in the garden, you will have to prepare soil suitable for the shrubs yourself according to the following rules.

• Loamy soil is diluted with sand and high peat mixed in a ratio of 1:3.
• Sand is added to acidic peat soil at the rate of 2-3 buckets per 1 m².
• If the soil on the site contains little organic fertilizers, complex mineral preparations containing equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are added to it.
• The soil enriched with humus is supplemented with the same substances necessary for full development Blueberries contain mineral elements, but in a ratio of 1:2:3.

Selection and preparation of planting material

Garden blueberries can be propagated in spring or autumn. Professionals advise not to postpone the procedure until September and here's why. In the summer, in weather conditions favorable for the shrub, its seedlings will take root well, gain strength and become stronger so that the winter cold will not be scary for them. When planting plants in the fall, the risk of them freezing is much higher.

In order for blueberry cultivation on your site to be successful, it is important to choose the right variety. You need to focus on the climate of the area and the ripening time of berries of a particular variety. Early or mid-ripening types of crops (Bluecrop, Patriot, Weymouth) are suitable for cultivation in the regions of the middle zone.

A guarantee of good survival of blueberry bushes on the site is high-quality planting material. It is recommended to purchase it in specialized stores or nurseries. It is better to choose seedlings whose roots are covered with soil, growing in a pot or other container. The transshipment method for planting them in a permanent place is not suitable. In order for the shrub to quickly take root and fully develop in the future, its roots will need to be carefully straightened in the hole.

15 minutes before planting blueberries in the ground, place the container with it in water. Then the future bush is removed from the pot and the soil ball is carefully kneaded, straightening the roots. Only after such preparation can it be planted in the ground.

In spring, it is important not to be late with planting dates. The procedure must be carried out before the plant buds swell.

Landing scheme

Highbush blueberry seedlings are placed in pre-prepared pits. Their width should be 0.6 m and depth – 0.5 m. The distance between the holes depends on the selected plant variety. An interval of 0.5 m will be enough for short varieties of blueberries. Medium-sized and tall varieties (Bluecrop, Patriot and the like) will need more free space. The interval between adjacent plants is made equal to 1 m and 1.2 m, respectively. The optimal row spacing is 3–3.5 m.

Proper agricultural technology for blueberries of the Bluecrop variety involves loosening the soil at the bottom and on the walls of the pit. It will facilitate the passage of air to the roots of the plant.

The pit is filled with an acidic substrate consisting of a mixture of the following components:

• high peat;
• pine needles;
• sawdust;
• sand;
• 50 g sulfur.

Fertilizers, especially organic ones, do not need to be added to it. The substrate is compacted, then the seedling is lowered into the hole and, having straightened the roots of the plant well, it is covered with soil. If everything is done correctly, the root collar of the bush should be deepened by 3 cm. Planting is completed by watering and mulching the surface of the hole. It is recommended to use pine sawdust, fine straw, chopped bark or peat for this. The thickness of the mulch layer should be at least 12 cm.

In autumn, shrubs are planted in the same way as in spring. If the plant is less than 1 year old, then after placing it in the ground, remove weak and damaged branches. Only healthy and strong shoots are left on young blueberries, which are shortened by half. Seedlings of Bluecrop, Patriot and other varieties that have reached 2 years of age do not require additional treatment after planting.

Watering and fertilizing

Blueberry farming technology is quite simple. During the growing season, the soil around the bush must be loosened periodically. It is not recommended to carry out the procedure too often, otherwise there is a high risk of drying out the plant. Loosening should affect only the top layer of soil (about 8 cm). If you make it deeper, you can damage the roots of the bush, which develop in a horizontal direction and are located close to the soil surface. The soil under the plants must always be covered with a layer of mulch; loosening is carried out without removing it. Every 2-3 years it is necessary to add mulching material. Blueberries of the Bluecrop variety do not tolerate the proximity of weeds, so you need to carefully monitor the cleanliness of the plantings.

The plant is moisture-loving, but prolonged (more than 2 days) stagnation of water at its roots can lead to the death of the bush. Correctly water blueberries according to the following scheme:

• twice a week;
• twice during the day: early in the morning and late in the evening, when the sun has already set;
• 1 bucket of water for each plant.

Timely watering is extremely important at the stage of flower bud formation - in July-August. Lack of moisture at this time will lead to a reduction in yield and a decrease in the quality of berries. It will have an effect next year too. If the summer turns out to be hot, watering alone will not be enough; you will have to additionally spray the blueberry leaves to prevent the plant from overheating. The procedure is carried out in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the heat subsides.

The shrub responds well to mineral fertilizers: ammonium sulfate, potassium sulfate, zinc sulfate, magnesium sulfate, superphosphate. It's better to bring them in in early spring when the plant begins to flow sap and buds swell. Organic compounds will only harm blueberries. Nitrogen-containing preparations are applied three times per season: at the beginning of spring, in May, when the bush intensively grows leaves, and in June. The plant's need for phosphorus occurs in summer and autumn. It needs magnesium, potassium and zinc in small quantities; enrich the soil with them once a year.

Plantings should be periodically carefully inspected in order to detect signs of disease and pest damage in time. If the leaves of a plant change color, turn yellow or red, or become covered with spots, you should be wary.

Reproduction methods

Propagation of any of the blueberry varieties, including the most popular - Bluecrop, can be carried out in the following ways:

• seeds;
• cuttings;
• layering;
• dividing the bush.

Seeds are usually sown in autumn. Spring planting is also possible, but in this case it is impossible to do without their 3-month stratification in the refrigerator. The seeds are laid out in grooves and sprinkled with a mixture of 1 part peat and 3 parts sand. The layer of nutrient substrate above them should be 1 cm. They will sprout vigorously if the air is heated to 23-25˚C and its humidity is at least 40%.

Agricultural technology for young blueberry shoots includes periodic moistening and loosening of the soil and removal weeds. Next spring, the seedlings are fed with nitrogen-containing preparations. It will be possible to plant them in a permanent place in 2 years. They will begin to bear fruit only 7-8 years after sowing.

Most often, propagation of shrubs is carried out by cuttings. It is better to cut them from the thickest shoots: they will give roots faster. Their length should be 8-15 cm. After cutting, the cuttings are placed in a cool place for a month, where the temperature does not rise above 1-5˚C, and then planted at an angle in a substrate of peat and sand, deepening by 5 cm. It is even easier to propagate blueberries by dividing the bush. It is dug up and cut into pieces so that each of them has a rhizome 5-7 cm long. No additional preparation is required for the divisions; they are immediately planted in a permanent plot.

Pruning and possible difficulties

Successful cultivation of blueberries is impossible without regular pruning of the bush, which helps to increase its productivity and decorativeness. It is better to carry out the procedure in early spring, when sap flow has not yet begun. Preventive pruning can be done at any time. Sick branches and severely damaged leaves must be removed and burned immediately.

If blueberry bushes bloom in the first year of life, the buds are cut off so that the plant develops correctly. At 2-4 years of age, they form a strong skeleton, removing weak branches, as well as branches damaged by disease or frost. It is necessary to get rid of shoots that lie on the ground and root growths.

All blueberry varieties, and Bluecrop is no exception, are susceptible to fungal diseases. Will signal them appearance bush. If its leaves turn red, this is a cause for concern. Most likely, the plant was struck by a dangerous disease - stem cancer. It can be caused by excessive soil moisture. Such symptoms can also appear if blueberries are not properly cared for. Its leaves often turn red when the branches dry out or if the plant lacks minerals: nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium.


American and Canadian garden blueberries are deservedly considered one of the most valuable berry bushes. It has a lot of advantages. Among them are high yields, an abundance of beneficial properties of all parts of the plant, unpretentiousness, cold resistance, and durability. It’s scary to imagine, but her bushes live and bear fruit for up to 90 years!

The ability of the crop to withstand unfavorable weather conditions allows it to be grown almost everywhere. You can meet the shrub in the USA, Western Europe, Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus, middle lane and even in the northern regions of Russia. Caring for blueberries cannot be called difficult. If you follow the recommendations for growing the crop, it will consistently produce a rich harvest.

Planting in open ground

Soil and location requirements

Garden blueberries: care

Watering schedule

Feeding and processing

• ammonium sulfate – 90 g;
• superphosphate – 110 g;
• potassium sulfate – 40 g.

Trimming

There are 3 types of pruning:

Preparing for winter

Blueberry propagation

Varieties of garden blueberries

Friends, our topic today is very interesting and important: how to properly plant blueberries and care for them.

For many gardeners, this wonderful berry simply disappears due to inappropriate conditions, improper cultivation techniques, or due to pests.

Garden blueberry is a rather demanding plant, let's discuss in order what it needs for a comfortable life and large harvests.

Planting blueberries in a summer cottage

So, if you decide to plant blueberries on your hacienda, you should start with high-quality planting material. Buy seedlings from proven, good producers.

For planting, we need a healthy plant with a strong root system.

Once you have decided on the variety and purchased high-quality seedlings, we begin preparing the blueberry site.

Preparing a hole for blueberries

We choose a good, sunny place for our future plantings.

It is necessary to dig a hole with a diameter of 90 cm and a depth of 45 cm. The bulk of blueberry roots are mostly located at a depth of 30 cm, so we need a shallow depth.

It is determined based on drainage and the necessary bedding.

Blueberries love acidic soil; the pH required for it is in the region of 3.5-5.0.

It’s rare that someone’s plot has acidic enough soil to simply plant this beauty and forget about it. Therefore, in fact, we need such a pit in order to create conditions for blueberries that they will like.

If this is not done, then in insufficiently acidic soil blueberries wither, wither, do not grow and bear scanty fruit. Or he might even die.

Therefore, we will put an acidic soil mixture in this hole. In addition to this, there are a few more tricks to sufficiently acidify the soil.

If you have highly alkaline soils, it is recommended to line the pit with something, such as non-woven material, this is necessary so that the alkaline soil in contact does not leach the acidic soil. Otherwise, it will gradually cease to be sour and the blueberries will begin to hurt.

If the soil is not too alkaline, you can limit yourself to sprinkling the bottom of the hole with colloidal sulfur. In the process of decomposition by bacteria, sulfur will gradually acidify the soil. You can also add special soil acidifiers.

If suddenly there is no bark at hand, then pine litter, rotted pine sawdust, and fragments of pine branches will do. Place a layer about 5 cm thick on the bottom.

The basis of the soil will be acidic red high-moor peat.

Since blueberries prefer loose soils, peat can be additionally mixed with fine bark, rotted sawdust and sand.

Add a little of your soil to this mixture, provided that your soil is not heavy or clayey.

The blueberry soil mixture is ready.

Planting blueberries

It's time to place our seedling for permanent residence. Take it out of the pot and look at the earthen ball, it should be completely entwined with roots. You can be sure that the plant’s root system is sufficiently developed and strong.

There is no further consensus on this matter. Many gardeners are of the opinion that it is necessary to stir up and tear apart the earthen ball along with the roots, so that when planting they begin to interact more quickly with the new substrate.

This is especially true for seedlings that have been “staying too long”, growing in the same pot for many years, and their root system is a dense lump.

If the roots are soft enough, then the earthen ball does not need to be torn apart, but only slightly stirred.

In the finished hole we make a recess to the size of the seedling’s clod. Let's put the plant in there.

It should be slightly deeper than the edge of the hole. Cover the roots of the seedling with soil.

We compact the soil around the bush.

We water it.

Mulch will prevent weeds from germinating and will retain moisture in the soil, since loose peat itself dries out very quickly.

After planting, remove all thin shoots from the bush.

It is also necessary at this stage to remove the fruit buds of the plant so that it does not waste energy on fruiting at least this year. But instead it grew big and strong.

Blueberry care

Blueberries will grow well in a sunny location.

Watering should be regular, even frequent during dry periods. On hot days, it is recommended to spray the bushes in the evening.

At the 3-4 year mark, the first pruning is performed: all thin, unnecessary branches are removed, and the crown is thinned out. This stimulates blueberries to grow new shoots and lay new fruit buds. Pruning is carried out in the spring, before the leaves bloom.

It is important to monitor the acidity of the soil, not to let it become alkalized, and this means acidifying it in time. This can be done in the spring using sour grass compote.

It is done like this: cut a large bunch of rhubarb, cut a bunch of sorrel and sorrel and add 10 liters of water. Leave for 3 hours. And you can water the bush with such water.

You can also use lemon juice as an acidifier: 1 lemon per 10 liters of water.

Periodically inspect blueberries for pests and treat if necessary.

The most harmful pest of blueberries is the cockchafer larva. They simply adore the tender roots of blueberries, often dozens of individuals crowd under one bush and gnaw on it with pleasure.

Therefore, when planting and in the future, it is necessary preventative treatments from these insects by spilling the soil with specialized preparations, such as Antikhrushch.

From folk remedies A solution of ammonia copes with the larva of the cockchafer: 1 tbsp. l per 10 liters of water.

Blueberry fertilizer

Blueberries need to be fed three times per season. The best choice would be specialized fertilizers for blueberries with an acidifying effect.

First of all, because they contain optimal dosages for this plant, and of course help maintain the acidity of the soil.

If you cannot find these fertilizers in your city, then as an option you can use fertilizers for azaleas - they also acidify the soil and nourish the plant well.

We hope that our article will help you make friends with this wonderful berry and successfully grow it on your property.

Choosing a blueberry variety

Landing dates

Preparation of seedlings

Landing technology

Blueberry care

Watering

Tillage

Feeding

Trimming

Blueberry fruit is a delicate dietary berry with a unique rich taste, rich in vitamins and useful substances. Blueberry plantings can be found in almost all corners of the northern hemisphere. Bushes at good care They will delight you with a generous harvest and extraordinary decorativeness for decades. The plant overwinters well in open ground, and there are not so many secrets to growing it.

Varieties and varieties

The selection of the first varieties of garden blueberries began in 1908. At this time, several groups of varieties have been developed:

1. Short.
2. Northern tall.
3. Southern tall.
4. Semi-tall.
5. Rabbit eye.

Blueberry. Variety "Rabbit Eye"

For climatic conditions of mid-latitude, varieties of the northern tall group are suitable, so let's look at these varieties:

• Bluecrop- This is one of the most famous and valuable varieties of medium fruiting period. Resistant to diseases, frost-resistant, tolerates drought well. It is a standard for other varieties. The berries are large, of high taste, suitable for transportation. In the United States of America, the variety is used as the main one for industrial purposes.

Bluecrop variety

• Patriot– ripens in the second ten days of July. Very frost-resistant. It can grow in damp places, but produces good yields in sunny, light areas. Resistant to stem cancer. Good tasting berries.
• Duke– an early fruiting variety, although it blooms late. Needs heavy pruning. The berries are large and suitable for freezing.
• Elizabeth– a late-fruiting variety. Propagates well from lignified cuttings. Fruit ripening is extended over time. This is one of the most delicious varieties. It is recommended for summer cottages as a dessert variety. It has good frost resistance down to -30 degrees. It grows very poorly on sandy soils.

Variety "Elizabeth"

• Sunrize– the variety is good for fresh consumption. Ripens by the end of July. It has a weak shoot-forming ability, which ensures good illumination of the entire bush.
• Toro– this variety is similar to Bluecrop. Ripens in the first ten days of August. Requires intensive pruning. Frost-resistant.

Variety "Toro"

Weather conditions can affect the frost resistance of the plant and the timing of berry ripening:

• winter thaws;
• spring frosts;
• early or late spring;
• general temperature level in different periods;
• features of the site (soil composition, moisture capacity, presence or absence of slope, planting in a hole or in a ridge, agricultural technology).

Advice. Blueberries are self-pollinating plants, but by planting several varieties on your plot, you will provide the crop with cross-pollination by insects, which helps to double the ovary.

Planting blueberries

Planting should begin with the correct choice of location for the crop. Some gardeners mistakenly believe that since blueberries grow in the wild in peat bogs and swamps, they should be planted in partial shade, under the canopy of trees, in low-lying areas where water stagnates. This is fundamentally wrong.

Blueberry bush

The fact is that garden blueberries practically do not produce a harvest in the shade, and even if the berries are set, you are unlikely to like their taste. For blueberries, you need to choose the most illuminated place on the site with a groundwater level of at least half a meter, protected from the winds. Regular one will not suit the plant garden soil, loamy or sandy soils. Blueberries planted in such soil will not develop and produce growth, and will die over time. A healthy plant with a rich harvest will grow only in acidic soil with an acidity level of 4.2 to 4.5 pH.

Measuring soil acidity

You can plant blueberries in planting holes or trenches filled with a mixture of high red peat in half with coniferous leaf litter and the addition of pine bark. Mulch the top well with pine sawdust, bark or pine needles. Mulch will provide the plant with stable moisture and oxygen access to the roots. If the soil on your site is clayey, then drainage must be laid at the bottom of the planting hole, otherwise water will stagnate in the hole, and this will have a detrimental effect on the plant.

A second option would be to plant in a ridge or raised bordered bed. Garden blueberries are a fairly tall plant, so the distance between rows should be at least 1.5 m, and about a meter in a row.

Ways to plant blueberries in different types soils

It is best to purchase seedlings with a closed root system. A simple transfer from a pot to a planting hole is not suitable, since the plant itself will not turn its roots in the desired direction. First, lower the container with the young bush into water for 10 minutes, and then carefully straighten the roots along the planting mound in the hole. The root collar should remain at soil level. Blueberries can be planted in spring and autumn.

Advice. In order not to be mistaken with the acidity and moisture of the soil, purchase a pH meter. The device will allow you to measure these parameters directly from the root system of blueberries. Timely correction of acidity and humidity is the key to successful plant growth and development.

Blueberry care, fertilizer and feeding

Remember one important rule - you cannot add ash, any manure or compost to blueberries. These components alkalize the soil, and blueberries require an acidic environment. This is due to the nutritional characteristics of the plant. The root system of blueberries does not have root hairs, and the absorption of nutrients occurs through symbiosis with endophytic mycorrhiza, which can only live in a moist acidic environment.

Organic fertilizers are not suitable for feeding blueberries.

The plant needs fertilizers from the second year after planting. They feed several times a season: in early spring, during the swelling of the buds and simultaneously with the picking of berries, when the next year's harvest is being laid. The easiest way is to take azalea fertilizer and dilute it according to the instructions.

The soil should be moderately moist at all times. It is optimal to water blueberries twice a week. Particular attention should be paid to watering during the ripening period of the berries, when future flower buds are formed.

Drip irrigation of blueberries

To maintain the required level of soil acidity, colloidal sulfur, citric acid (3 spoons per bucket) and a strong electrolyte for batteries (H2SO4) can be used simultaneously with watering. Adding 1 ml of electrolyte to 1 liter of water changes the pH to 5.0.

Garden blueberries need pruning. Until the age of five, only dried, diseased or damaged shoots and branches lying on the ground are removed. Subsequently, branches that thicken the bush are removed, as well as branches without young growth. Strong anti-aging pruning is necessary for bushes that have reached 15 years of age.

Blueberry pruning scheme

If severe winters prevail in your region, blueberries must be covered with spunbond for the winter and spruce branches placed on top. The plant can tolerate temperatures as low as -25 degrees. Tall varieties can freeze when there is little snow; in this case, in the spring, carry out sanitary pruning of the branches to healthy wood. Blooming blueberries can withstand temperatures as low as -7 degrees without harming the future harvest. If your climate zone has mild winters, then you can do without shelter, especially if you planted frost-resistant varieties.

Propagation of blueberries

Blueberries are propagated in several ways:

Advice. Blueberries are a very difficult plant to root, so before planting it is recommended to dip the material in a preparation for rooting heathers.

Diseases and pests

With good care and agricultural technology appropriate to the plant, blueberries are practically not affected by diseases and pests. But unfavorable weather conditions can make their own adjustments, weaken the immune system, and the plant cannot cope without your help.

Manifestation of fungal disease of blueberries

Excess moisture in the root zone contributes to the appearance fungal diseases:

• stem cancer;
• Phomopsis;
• septoria;
• botrytis;
• coccomycosis;
• anthracnose;
• moniliosis

A new layer of mulch material laid in early spring will cover the spores of fungal pathogens and prevent them from developing. For prevention, you can spray the bushes with Bordeaux mixture before the buds begin to swell and a second time in the fall after the leaves fall.

Viral and mycoplasma diseases:

• mosaic;
• dwarfism;
• necrotic spotting;
• threadiness of branches.

Viral diseases are insidious in that the diseased plant cannot be treated. The bush must be dug up and burned.

Birds love to feast on delicious blueberries. A fine-mesh garden net thrown over the bushes will help protect the harvest.

Chafer

There are few insects that harm blueberries; no particular harm has been observed from them.

1. Aphids and scale insects feed on plant sap and can transmit viral diseases.
2. The leaf roller damages leaves and flower buds. The young tips of the shoots are covered with cobwebs.
3. The pine silkworm feeds on leaves.
4. Chafer. Adults feed on the leaves and flowers of the plant, and their larvae can gnaw at the roots of the bush.

If beetles can be collected by hand, then other insects can be controlled by spraying the plant with insecticides.

How to care for highbush blueberries: video

Garden blueberries: photo

Planting and caring for garden blueberries requires a lot of effort, but if you find it the right approach, you can get an impressive harvest every year. Having excellent taste and huge quantities useful features, the plant is one of the most desirable on personal plots. And the most important thing is that healing properties endowed not only with fruits, but also with leaves and twigs of blueberries.

Garden blueberries: nuances of cultivation

Blueberries belong to the genus Vaccinium. This perennial, therefore, before planting it on your summer cottage, you should take into account the fact that it can safely grow there for several decades. An aggressive garden environment is not the best option for bush growth, however experienced gardeners learned to create conditions for the plant that are as close to natural as possible.

Blueberries do not like open spaces, but planting them near large trees is also not recommended. The soil must be acidic, in addition, it is necessary to comply water balance. Let us consider all the features of cultivation and care in more detail, which will allow you to form a general impression of this plant.

Planting in open ground

The process of planting blueberries in open soil is practically no different from planting other plants. However, there are a few simple rules that every owner of a personal plot must know about.

Soil and location requirements

Despite the fact that blueberries grow in the tundra, at home it is better to choose a bright and open place for them. Trees and shrubs located nearby will lead to a decrease in yield and a decrease in fruit size.

• It is desirable that the burial level groundwater in the area where the plant will live, did not exceed 0.5-1 meters. This will help maintain a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil, which is so necessary for blueberries.
• When choosing a landing site, you should also pay attention to ensuring that it is protected from strong winds. Fences or artificial hedges will serve as a good barrier.
• In addition, there must be a certain level of acidity, so before planting, measure the pH value (its norm is 3.5-5.5).

For the plant to develop, the neutral environment will need to be acidified. Colloidal sulfur, citric or phosphoric acid are perfect for this. It is better to fill the substrate six months before planting the berries.

Despite the fact that blueberries can easily take root in depleted soil and do not need any fertilizers, experienced gardeners still try to prepare a special substrate for it, which differs in its composition from ordinary garden soil.

• A drainage layer is placed at the bottom of the hole in which the seedlings will be planted. Typically, chips or small pine branches are used as it.
• Then the substrate itself is prepared from high-moor and sphagnum peat, sawdust, forest soil, sand and pine needle humus.
• Half of the total composition should be peat, the remaining components are taken in equal proportions.

How and when to plant blueberries in autumn and spring?

Blueberry seedlings can be planted in spring or autumn. If this procedure is carried out in the spring, then it is important to do this before the buds swell.

A few rules for proper planting of seedlings:

1. Prepare the wells first. On average, their size should be 60x60, depth - up to 0.5 meters.
2. If low-growing varieties are planted, the gap between the holes can be 0.5 meters; for medium-growing varieties it increases to 1 meter; for tall ones, a distance of more than a meter must be maintained.
3. Try to keep the distance between rows about three meters.
4. Loosen the walls and bottom of the hole - this will saturate the root system required quantity oxygen. Then fill part of the hole with a special substrate. Do not add any organic matter under any circumstances, as it can lower the acidity level.
5. Place the seedling in the hole and carefully straighten all the roots. Start covering them with soil, but remember that the root collar should only be covered a few centimeters.
6. Water the planted seedlings with water and place a layer of pine sawdust, straw or peat on top.

To plant blueberries from containers, the containers must be placed in water for 15 minutes.

After this, it will be much easier to get the sprout. Mash the soil and straighten the roots thoroughly.

Knowing the basic rules for planting in spring, the question of how to plant blueberries gardening in autumn, should fall off by itself. The sequence of actions is no different from those described above and does not depend on the time of year. The only thing you need to know is after autumn planting from a young seedling it is necessary to remove all weak cuttings and shorten the remaining ones by half. If the seedlings are more than 2 years old, then they do not need any pruning.

Garden blueberries: care

To ensure that the success of growing blueberries does not take long, it is important to adhere to the basic rules in caring for the plant. This applies to watering, pruning, preparing for winter and the question of how to feed blueberries.

Watering schedule

Blueberries are exactly the plant that vitally needs a sufficient amount of moisture.

It does not have enough natural precipitation, which means it is worth taking care of regular watering.

This is especially important in the spring. High and high-quality results are guaranteed by the drip irrigation system. But not everyone has the opportunity to organize watering in this way.

Therefore, pay attention to the following nuances:

1. The first signal for watering should be the dry top layer of soil (about 4-5 centimeters).
2. Young shoots and seedlings need abundant watering every 2-4 days. In drier times, the amount of watering is increased; at average temperatures, they can be reduced.
3. If the acidity of the soil is insufficient, then every month 100 grams of table vinegar or soil acidifier are added to the water (per 10 liters).

Feeding and processing

It is necessary to start feeding blueberries in the autumn, during the process of mulching the soil. By the way, this procedure is necessary, since mulch helps retain moisture in the soil, and during decomposition it maintains a sufficient level of acidity.

Almost all garden stores sell ready-made fertilizers, which also contain soil acidifiers. Among them, Florovit and Target have proven themselves well.

If ready-made preparations do not suit you, then you can prepare fertilizers yourself. First of all, pay attention to nitrogen agents, which have a positive effect on growth. But they must be added no later than July, so that the young shoots do not freeze in winter.

In addition, you can prepare another mineral mixture:

• ammonium sulfate – 90 g;
• superphosphate – 110 g;
• potassium sulfate – 40 g.

The dose of fertilizer applied depends on the age characteristics of the plant. For one-year-old seedlings, 1 level tablespoon (10 grams) is enough; every year the norm increases by 1 tbsp. spoon.

Trimming

Blueberries should be pruned in early spring or late fall.

There are 3 types of pruning:

1. Formative. It is carried out 3-4 years after planting the seedlings. It is necessary in order to form a comfortable crown. In the process, low, weakened and dense shoots are removed.
2. Regulatory. It is recommended to do it annually after 4 years of age. With its help, you can evenly distribute inflorescences and fruit buds. The process also removes all weakened, dense and low-growing shoots. In addition, it is allowed to remove several large branches, as well as those branches that grow in bunches at the edges of the shoots.
3. Rejuvenating. It is carried out for 8-10 years and gives the bush vital energy. It is necessary to rid the plant of all diseased and low-growing branches, as well as trim several large summer shoots.

Preparing for winter

Blueberries are among the frost-resistant plants and are able to grow in latitudes where frosts reach -23...-25 degrees.

If the shoots freeze slightly, then with the arrival of warmth the bush will quickly recover.

In our latitudes, it is recommended to mulch the bush with pine needles. If very severe frosts are expected, then in the fall I secure all inclined branches with staples, and the bush itself is covered with spruce branches. During flowering, blueberries can withstand frosts down to -7 degrees.

Blueberry propagation

There are several options for propagating garden blueberries:

• Cuttings. This is one of the most common options. This method became possible thanks to regeneration, as a result of which new roots are formed. When choosing a cutting, it is important to pay attention to its age. In lignified shoots, metabolic and water-retaining functions deteriorate, which is very necessary for the formation of the root base. As a result, green young shoots have a higher survival rate.
• Taps. This method is also often used, but its disadvantage is that it may take 2-3 years for rooting. The right time for this method is the period of active growth, that is, from mid-spring to early autumn.
• Seeds. This is the most labor-intensive work that takes more than one year. That is why this method is practically not used by ordinary gardeners. It is mainly used by breeders to develop new varieties.

Disease and pest control

• Most often, blueberries are adversely affected by birds, which glue the fruits together and reduce their yield. To prevent this, it is recommended to cover the bushes with special nets.
• Sometimes in spring, blueberries can be attacked by cockchafers and beetles. They gnaw the leaf base and eat the inflorescences. Beetle larvae can damage roots.
• The plant also suffers from scale insects, silkworms, aphids and leaf rollers. Large individuals are collected by hand, and to remove the rest it is necessary to spray the bushes with Karbofos or Actellik.

As for diseases, most often the plant is affected by various fungi. They are provoked by the accumulation of moisture in the rhizome area with insufficient soil permeability. For prevention, it is recommended to treat bushes in the spring. Bordeaux mixture. Topaz can be used for treatment.

It happens that bushes are affected by viruses or mycoplasma diseases. Unfortunately, they cannot be treated and as a result, the damaged parts have to be cut off and burned.

If you notice that the plant’s leaves have begun to turn yellow, this indicates insufficient nitrogen levels. The consequence of such a deficiency will be small fruits and slower growth of shoots.

Varieties of garden blueberries

Today there are a huge number of varieties of garden blueberries, and it is simply impossible to consider them all. We invite you to get acquainted with the most popular options that have proven themselves to be the best among gardeners.

• Blugold is one of the early varieties, withstanding cold temperatures down to -35 degrees. Minimum yield 4 kg.
• Blueport is a mid-season variety, the berries have a flattened shape.
• Bluray is distinguished by its juicy and sugary-sweet berries, which can be picked in mid-summer. Able to withstand frosts down to -34 degrees.
• Bonus – a variety with very large fruits. The berries are often the size of a coin. They can be consumed both fresh and frozen.
• Gerber is one of the tallest bushes, often reaching a height of 2 meters. Thanks to these features, you can get up to 9 kg of fruit from it.
• Jersey is a fairly common variety, proven by more than one generation. The berries are well stored and used for homemade preparations.
• Duke - this variety is not afraid of spring frosts, and its fruits can be harvested as early as mid-July.
• Northland. There have been cases where the plant withstood frosts down to -40 degrees. Thanks to this ability, it is perfect for cold regions. The maximum yield of the bush is 8 kg.

Blueberries cannot be considered one of the most unpretentious plants. She needs constant attention and requires certain specific care. But again, there is nothing complicated about growing a bush. With a little patience and effort, you will get tasty and healthy fruits at your summer cottage.

In recent years, blueberry, a common shrub in Europe with high content vitamin C, other vitamins and minerals.

A berry with exceptionally beneficial properties is necessary for everyone. healthy person. Not knowing how to grow blueberries, many gardeners and summer residents abandon this shrub. The shrub is unpretentious in care and does not require much effort, however, growing blueberries requires observing some nuances.

Choosing a blueberry variety

Before planting blueberries on your site, it is important to choose the right variety. For areas with cool climates, low-growing varieties (for example, Canadian) are preferred. In warmer regions with long, hot summers, garden blueberries can be cultivated. When making a choice, the most important thing is to compare the ripening time and the climatic features of your area, otherwise the blueberries will not have time to ripen.

You can enjoy wonderful blueberries in any region of our country. Different varieties of berries produce crops in the early, middle or late seasons. Growing several varieties at once will help extend the harvest season until late autumn.

Landing dates

The shrub can be grown in any region of our country, given that the plant does not like prolonged drying of the soil. Blueberries can be planted in spring and autumn, but spring planting is more reliable: during the summer season, the seedlings on the site have time to take root and become so strong that in winter the risk of them freezing becomes minimal.

In early spring, it is recommended to plant blueberries before the sap begins to flow. Planting is best done after the snow has melted and the soil has warmed to +6°C. The time for planting shrubs depends on weather conditions region: from March-April in more southern regions to May in northern regions.

In autumn, blueberries are best planted in September or early October. Plants planted before winter take root well and practically do not freeze. Compared to spring planting, autumn planting takes longer.

Site selection and soil preparation

Blueberries are grown only in acidic soils. The plant develops well on peat bogs, sandy and sandy loam substrates. Blueberries do not tolerate predecessors, so it is advisable that the area intended for it be fallow for several years.

Significantly improves soil fertility and water regime rotted leaf litter. To create such soil in a garden plot, you can use sawdust, acidic high-moor peat, foliage, bark or other materials, using sulfur, acetic, citric or malic acid to raise the acidity of the soil to 3.7-4.8 units.

Moderate soil moisture is one of the main conditions for successful blueberry cultivation. It should not be planted in low-lying areas: in such cases there is a very high risk of waterlogging. When a shrub grows for a long time in places with an excess of moisture, its roots quickly rot and die, and it stops developing and bearing fruit.

To plant blueberries in your summer cottage, you should choose the most illuminated place, at the same time protected from strong winds. The yield and quality of berries in partial shade will be significantly worse. With a lack of light, the growth time of shoots lengthens, which do not always have time to become lignified before the first frost, as a result of which the risk of their freezing in winter increases.

It is cost-effective to plant several varieties of blueberries in your garden plot. At mixed planting different varieties ensure good pollination and higher yields, the taste of berries is significantly improved and their ripening time is reduced.

Preparation of seedlings

It is better to purchase 2-3 year old blueberry seedlings with a developed closed root system: in containers or pots. You cannot simply transfer them from a container to a hole, because in the soil the fragile blueberry roots will not unfold on their own and the plant will not be able to fully develop.

Immediately before planting, the pot with the plant is immersed in a container of water for 20-25 minutes to saturate the roots and earthen ball with moisture. The seedlings are then carefully removed from the pot, and the earthen lump is kneaded with your hands. Having turned the bush upside down, the root ball is cut crosswise to a depth of 5-7 cm or, starting from the middle, it is torn apart by hand.

Landing technology

Medium- and vigorous-growing blueberry bushes are planted at a distance of 90-120 cm from each other, low-growing ones - 70-80 cm. Planting holes with a diameter of 60-70 cm and a depth of 40-50 cm are prepared in advance. On heavy loamy soils, a wider hole of less depth is made (20-30 cm) and additionally equip a drainage layer 10-15 cm thick.

To ensure air access to the roots of the plant, it is advisable to loosen the bottom and walls of the pit. To ensure normal development of blueberries, it is necessary to create an acidic substrate in the pit.

It is recommended to place high-moor peat mixed with pine needles, sand and sawdust on the bottom and add 50 grams of sulfur to oxidize the soil, mix everything thoroughly and compact it. There is no need to add any fertilizers to the substrate, especially organic ones that alkalize the soil.

The seedling is lowered into the hole, its roots are straightened different sides and covered with prepared soil with high acidity. The plant is buried 6-7 cm above the level of the coma in the pot. The earth is then slightly compacted. Make a small hole around the bush and water it abundantly. A layer of sawdust 9-12 cm thick is used to mulch the tree trunk area.

After the autumn planting of blueberries, you need to use pruning shears to remove all weak branches from the seedling of the first year of life, and shorten the developed ones by half. If the seedling is older than 2 years, pruning after planting should not be done.

Blueberry care

To obtain a rich harvest of beautiful and healing berries, blueberry plantings must be provided with competent, timely care.

Watering

For good survival and development of bushes, moderate but constant watering without waterlogging and drying out the soil is important. It is recommended to water the soil around the bush by drip or light sprinkling.

In the summer, in mid-July and August, the plant should be watered twice a day (morning and evening), several times a week, 1.5-2 buckets of water for each bush. Abundant watering during this period is very important: flower buds are laid on the bushes at the same time as fruiting for next year’s harvest. The lack of moisture will be reflected in its significant decrease this year and next.

When it is especially hot and stuffy, the bushes need to be cooled by spraying them with cool water at 12-13 o'clock in the afternoon. This simple agrotechnical manipulation allows you to minimize stress from overheating of the plant and increase the rate of photosynthesis.

Tillage

Blueberry plantings are mulched with rotted leaves, sawdust, straw, pine needles in a layer 7-12 cm thick. By retaining moisture in the soil, this allows you to equalize its temperature. When mulching plantings with sawdust or fresh bark, it is necessary to additionally apply nitrogen fertilizers so that the growth and development of bushes does not slow down.

When removing weeds around blueberry plantings, it is important to consider close location blueberry roots to the surface. Weeding between rows is recommended to be done shallowly. Blueberry plantings are often sown with low-growing grasses, mowed down and left to rot.

Feeding

Blueberries, especially tall varieties, are sensitive to lack of fertilizers.

At the beginning of spring, when the buds swell, it is recommended to carry out the first fertilizing with complex mineral fertilizers such as Fertik or Azofoska (according to the instructions), the second - during the flowering period, the third - after the appearance of small berries, but not later than July 1. The dose of fertilizer per season depends on the age of the bush: a 2-3 year old will need 10-20 grams, a 4 year old - 40 grams, a 5 year old - 50-70 grams, an older one - 150-160 grams.

When growing blueberries, many gardeners make a common mistake - adding organic fertilizers. Blueberries not only do not tolerate manure, compost and chicken droppings, but after using them they may even die.

You should not ignore such an important measure as maintaining an optimal level of soil acidity. For this purpose, from April to September, twice a month, each bush is watered with a weak solution of citric acid (5-12 grams per 3 liters of water).

Trimming

Regular spring pruning bushes ensures high fruiting of blueberries. In this case, diseased branches lying on the ground and small bushy growth at the base of the plant must be removed. Of the annual shoots, it is necessary to leave 4-6 of the most developed ones. In upright bushes, the middle is thinned out, in spreading bushes, the drooping lower branches are removed.

Pest and disease control

Garden blueberry plants will be healthy and immune to diseases if planting and caring for them are carried out according to the rules of agricultural technology. But sometimes even healthy plants require protection. Most often, ripening blueberries suffer from birds that peck them. To save the harvest, just carefully stretch the mesh with small cells over the bushes.

Insects usually do not cause noticeable damage to blueberries, but in some years the bushes can be attacked by cockchafers, which gnaw the leaves and eat the flowers of the plant, which significantly reduces the yield of blueberries. Beetle larvae can also eat up the roots of bushes. Blueberries can suffer from aphids, scale insects, leaf rollers, and pine silkworm caterpillars.

The beetles and their larvae are collected by hand and drowned in salt water. The best remedy for other pests is preventive and therapeutic spraying of blueberry plantings with Actellik (2 milliliters per 2 liters of water).

Blueberries suffer most from fungal diseases: phomopsis (drying of branches), stem cancer, white and double spot, gray rot, physalsporosis, fruit monoliosis. Almost all fungal diseases of garden blueberries are caused by stagnation of moisture in the roots of the plant due to insufficient water permeability of the soil or improper watering.

For preventive purposes, plants are treated annually with a 3% solution of Bordeaux mixture in early spring and after harvest. Diseases are treated with double or triple treatment with Topaz (2 milliliters per 10 liters of water) at weekly intervals.

Sometimes blueberries are affected by mycoplasma or viral diseases: dwarfism, filamentous branches, necrotic and red ring spots, mosaic. Plants cannot be cured of them; diseased specimens must be removed and burned.

Some problems with blueberries are caused by violations of agricultural practices. If plant leaves turn light green and then yellow, the problem is most likely that the soil in the area is not acidic enough.

If you add peat to it, the appearance of the foliage will gradually be restored. Blueberry leaves may also turn yellow as a result of nitrogen deficiency. For the same reason, the berries become small, and the shoots stop growing. Nitrogen fertilizers on the blueberry plot must be applied annually.

" 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.. It has curved, smooth gray branches. 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.

1. 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.
2. Another difference is how both shrubs grow. Blueberry bush grows very close to the ground, practically creeps. While the blueberry bush grows vertically.
3. Blueberries can grow almost anywhere, including on soils that are not very rich in useful properties at home. And blueberries grow mainly in pine forests.
4. Berry juice blueberries have a rather dark tint, and the juice from blueberries will be colorless.
5. 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 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.
6. 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 blueberries are 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 a special machine to pick 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 get a 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 burgundy or brown spots, 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 then easily enters. 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 it 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 all the 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 complete nutrition of one blueberry bush, about 30 g of phosphorus is required. 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 only be done in spring or early summer period. Blueberries cannot be fed in the fall.

How to care for blueberries in autumn? 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 is an 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 a fairly unpretentious plant and do 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.

Nature gives a person the opportunity to be healthy and prolong his life. And achieving this is not so difficult if you grow the right plants on your site. These include garden blueberries, which are often popularly called “fools” or “drunkards”. But such unpleasant names arose due to confusion with a plant that often neighbors blueberries in nature - wild rosemary, which causes Negative influence body. In fact, blueberries are a useful crop that is widely used in everyday life. We invite you to familiarize yourself with it and its features in more detail.

Description of blueberries

Garden blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) is a species of deciduous plants from the genus Vaccinium of the Heather family. common name, combining several fairly different shrubs. It is considered a distant relative of lingonberries and blueberries.

Therefore, even experts sometimes wonder what the difference is between blueberries and blueberries. But it still exists, it lies in the fact that:

• there are no hairs on the root system;
• brown or deep gray bark is located on the surface of cylindrical branches;
• the color of its fruits and juice is much more delicate and does not leave stains when it comes into contact with human skin.

The height of the bush varies from 1 to 2 m. Blueberry leaves are usually obovate with a rounded top part and slightly rounded edges. The front part is covered with a waxy coating, which gives the leaf a beautiful greenish color with a blue tint. Veins are visible on the underside and it is pale in color.

Pitcher-shaped corolla flowers with five drooping teeth of a white-pinkish flower reach 6 cm in length. Flowers appear on two-year-olds on the upper part of the stem in several pieces at once.

The length of the elongated violet-blue berries is about 1 cm, weight varies from 1 to 25 g. Blueberries are thin-skinned, bluish in color. And its flesh has a pale greenish color.

When wondering where blueberries grow, it is worth noting their versatility in cool to moderately cold areas.

In an effort to acquire useful and beautiful plant, many gardeners pay attention to shrubs and berries, which can help cope with chronic ailments.
Growing garden blueberries is not such a complicated process, but the harvest will be received by several generations of site owners. To get a full-fledged garden, it is better to use several varieties at once. This promotes better pollination.

Planting and caring for garden blueberries

Planting garden blueberries is possible both in autumn and spring, but with slight differences. The site is selected according to several parameters:

• windless;
• groundwater at a level of 30-40 cm;
• without predecessors for 2-3 years;
• good lighting;
• neighboring vegetation is no closer than 1.5 m;
• peaty, drained soil with the addition of loamy-sandy soil.

For planting, experts recommend taking a seedling from a container.

You will need to take care of the soil acidity level. Optimal – 3.5-4.5 pH. The hole is dug 60 cm in diameter and up to half a meter deep. The bottom is covered with an oxidizing mixture of sawdust, sand, peat composition and pine needles.

• Before planting, the roots are placed in water for half an hour. With light movements (so as not to damage), straighten the root system (it is unacceptable to replant with soil from a pot in one piece - the rhizome will weaken and die);
• Cover the roots with the same mixture so that the depth of the root collar reaches 3 cm. Fertilizers are not applied during planting;
• The area around the bush for half a meter (trunk circle) is mulched. Mulch height – 12 cm.

Planted blueberries in the fall require pruning of dried out, non-viable branches completely and all other branches by half.

In a row, the distance between bushes should be at least one and a half meters, between rows - three and a half meters.

Growing blueberries involves:

• Weeding. It is taken into account that the root system is superficial. Therefore, weeding is carried out very carefully, without injuring the roots, and no more than 3 times a year to level out the drying out of the soil. Loosening is allowed along with mulch, which must be replenished after the procedure. If weeds appear in close proximity to the bush, they are pulled out.
• Watering. One bush receives 10 liters of water twice a day, at least twice a week. And in the summer heat, the foliage and stems are additionally sprayed. Watering is carried out exclusively in the morning and evening. Lack of moisture reduces the number of fruits and has a detrimental effect on the growth of the bush. Stagnant water is also dangerous for the plant.
• Trimming. Garden blueberries are periodically cleared of thickening and dry branches both inside and adjacent to the ground. Stems that are 5 or more years old are also cut out. This is usually done in the spring before the sap flows and the buds swell or in preparation for wintering. The appearance of signs of disease or pests is a signal for the procedure in the summer. Ideally, the bush should have 4 strong stems.

Harvesting begins not when the berries turn purple, but when they become soft and filled with sugar. The procedure is performed no more than once a week.

A harvest of ripe blueberries will delight any gardener

Care should be taken to overwinter the plant. If the winter is not snowy or the temperature drops to -25 ° C, additional protection is required. The garden blueberries are covered with burlap and spruce branches, after carefully lowering the branches to the ground. And after the snow falls, they also cover it with it for insulation.

Despite the fact that growing garden blueberries has gained popularity in our latitudes due to the plant’s frost resistance, it can only withstand temperatures down to -28. Although it recovers quite easily from severe frosts, it takes more effort than after a normal wintering, and therefore the yield decreases.

Fertilizing garden blueberries

Top dressing consists exclusively of mineral fertilizers. Organic matter (manure and compost) is harmful to blueberry bushes. Fertilizing should be done at least twice a year: in spring for better flowering and fruiting plants in the fall to help prepare for winter.

Remember - organic matter changes the acidity of the soil. You should not pour it under the bush.

Blueberries require superphosphate (100 g in the summer-autumn period), ammonium sulfate (40 g at the beginning of sap flow; 35 g in early May; 25 g in June), magnesium sulfate (15 g per season), potassium sulfate and zinc sulfate ( 2 g per season).Feeding blueberries in the fall neutralizes the weakening of the plant, which can be noticed in the spring by the yellowness or redness of the leaf, the appearance of spots on it, and deformation of the leaf plate. You can use both monofertilizers, making up for the deficiency of one component in the soil, and complex fertilizers, as well as those special for this type of plant.

Shrub propagation

Garden blueberries are propagated in three ways: seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush. This allows you to both purchase different varieties and grow them initially in a specific area, and use your own planting material, reducing the cost of the procedure.

The first, most labor-intensive one is seed. The fruits are cut and the seeds are dried. In autumn, sowing is done in areas with oxidized peat. IN spring planting the seeds undergo a stratification procedure by aging in the freezer for 3 months. The depth of the bed is 1 cm, the top is sprinkled with sand and peat, where the first element is 3 times the amount of the second. Requirements for growing seeds:

• temperature from 23 to 25°C;
• moisture 40%;
• thorough watering, weeding and loosening of the soil;
• application of nitrogenous mixtures for two-year-old and older bushes.

Blueberry seedlings can be transferred to a permanent place after 2 years.

The blueberry bush is subject to vegetative propagation: division, cuttings. Rhizome cuttings no less than 10 cm and no more than 15 cm are harvested in early spring or late autumn. For a month, the blanks are placed in the basement, where the temperature is kept from 1 to 5°C. The planting mixture is the same: three parts sand and one part peat. 5 cm deep. Transplantation is also carried out after 2 years, as in the case of seeds.

If the root system has reached half a meter, then dividing the bush is acceptable.

Advantage vegetative propagation is the speedy appearance of fruits - on average after 4 years. The seed propagation method gives the result in the form of a harvest after 7 years. Garden blueberries, planting and caring for them are no more difficult than with other shrubs. And the benefits and productivity are in many ways superior to even related blueberries.

Diseases and pests

Garden blueberries are quite resistant to unfavorable conditions and pest attacks, but there is a whole range of nuances that should be taken into account when growing them. And the absence of one of them can provoke a weakening of the protective function and a decrease in yield or death of the plant.

The most common pests are:

• birds;
• Khrushchi and Maybugs;
• Acacia leaf rollers, caterpillars and false scale insects.

They fight beetles by placing them in a salty solution, or using Karbofos or Actellicom preparations. They are also used for prevention in the spring before the start of sap flow and in the fall, after harvesting.

The most common diseases are:

• fungus;
• viral diseases.

The first group is mostly treated, and the second requires removal of the infected bush from the site to prevent infection of other plants. Pests can be prevented from reaching the plant by annual spraying with herbicides, and fungicidal preparations will help control diseases.

Using culture in garden design

Garden blueberries perfectly create natural fences to zone a space.

They look great as central figures in a composition, but do not tolerate close proximity to other bushes and trees. More often they are used in mono compositions.

Beneficial properties of blueberries and contraindications

Blueberries are used to make jam, dried berry compotes, tinctures, and other potions. home medicine. Garden blueberries are often frozen for the winter, regular refrigerator does not last more than half a month. Moderate and regular consumption of berries prolongs life and adds health to a person.
The Internet is filled with stories about the benefits of blueberries. The main positive properties are as follows:

• antiscorbutic;
• anti-inflammatory;
• hypotensive;
• choleretic;
• antisclerotic;
• cardiotonic agent.

The benefits and harms of blueberries are actively discussed, but even its opponents cannot argue against the fact that the provitamin A, vitamins B1, B2, C, PP contained in it have an unambiguously positive effect on immune system person. Positive effects can be observed in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, fever and diabetes, eye spasms and poor vision, radioactive contamination and even precancerous conditions of the body, diarrhea and dysentery, cardiovascular problems.

But remember! Overeating berries can cause allergic reactions, vomiting and nausea, and muscle dysfunction.

The best types and varieties of garden blueberries

But regardless of external characteristics, the beneficial properties of blueberries can hardly be overestimated for the human body. Therefore, it is used everywhere both for the prevention of diseases and for relieving symptoms of diseases such as diabetes, problems with the gastrointestinal tract, and even radioactive contamination.

There are two main varieties of the plant:

Popular blueberry varieties

In our latitudes the following varieties are most popular:

• Garden blueberry "Bluecrop"(Bluecrop). Withstands up to -34 ° C. In height - from 1.2 to 1.8 m. The harvest is harvested in early August. Productivity – from 6 to 9 kg per bush.
• "Sunrise". Medium-sized bush, does not require frequent pruning. Ripens from mid-July. Harvest – up to 4 kg.
• Northland. Low-growing (up to 1 m), high-yielding - up to 8 kg of berries per bush.
• Garden blueberry"Elizabeth" Spreading and frost-resistant bush, reaches up to 1.7 meters in height, yielding 5-6 kg of berries per bush.

Patriot blueberries are also popular in our latitudes due to high yield and the ability to survive in low winter temperatures. Tall varieties are hardier than ordinary ones, but not all can withstand frost during the snowless period. American bushes are known to us as garden blueberries. Not only its varieties, but also hybrids bred in America and Canada have gained popularity. They are very frost-resistant, which is suitable for our climatic conditions. Choosing a suitable seedling is the main task of a gardener who seeks not only to decorate his plot, but also to obtain practical benefits from the plant. By following all the recommendations, you will be able to get good blueberry harvests.