How to plant blueberries, site selection and soil preparation
Sweet and sour blueberries are a real treat for those who like to add them to compotes or make jam. Most often, dense bushes can be found in natural conditions, where it grows among swampy peat bogs. Hybrid blueberry varieties are grown as a cultivated plant. They are distinguished by their larger berries and increased resistance to diseases and low temperatures. If you decide to start this crop in your garden, it doesn't hurt to know how to plant blueberries. Despite the relative unpretentiousness of the hybrids, they need comfortable conditions for a good harvest. This shrub will not grow anywhere, and it has its own requirements for the soil.
Where is the best place to plant blueberries
Planting work is best done in the spring, so that blueberries get stronger by the onset of cold weather.
What soil is needed for blueberries
Blueberries will grow and bear fruit well only on acidic drained soils. On loams, you will need to add peat and sand. Clean peat bogs should be thinned with sand.
It is necessary to add a substrate to the planting pit, consisting of:
- sand;
- peat (riding);
- a small amount of sawdust;
- some needles;
- sulfur (about 50 g).
There is no need to add organic matter, otherwise young bushes will not winter well.
How to plant blueberries: features of planting seeds, seedlings, cuttings and cuttings
The timing and features of planting blueberries depend on what exactly acts as the planting material:
- Saplings are planted in spring or before winter, in pre-prepared holes with acidic soil. In this case, the root collar should be deepened into the soil at least 3 cm, and the roots should be well spread. The trunk circle must be mulched with peat or coniferous sawdust.
- It is better to sow seeds in the fall on a separate bed so that they undergo natural stratification. Sprinkle them on top with a peat-sand mixture. Seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place only in the third year.
- They start harvesting cuttings in the fall, but for the winter they are sent for storage in the basement. Blueberry cuttings are rooted in April and grown in greenhouses until autumn, then to be planted in the garden. But it would be better to postpone the transplant until next spring.
- You can divide adult bushes in spring or autumn, immediately planting them in a permanent place.
The predominant way of planting blueberries is by grown seedlings or cuttings. Bushes grown from cuttings will give the first harvest only after 2-3 years, and from seeds - after 7 years.