Blueberry tree: cultivation, photo

Blueberries are a common berry crop that grows in Northern and Eastern Europe, the taiga and tundra regions of Asia, and North America. In the wild, this is a low-growing shrub, some species of which do not exceed 10-15 cm. Many gardeners, not wanting to go to the forest for berries every summer, try to equip their own blueberries in their garden plot. In most cases, the transfer of a forest plant to artificial conditions ends in failure. Blueberries are accepted, but do not give fruit. When planting specimens purchased in specialized stores, consumers note that they have little in common with wild berries. The garden blueberry or blueberry tree is a hybrid species intended for growing outside of natural conditions.

Photo of garden blueberries:

Description of garden blueberries

Garden Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is a variant of the name Tall Blueberry, selectively bred in North America. Several dozen varieties are used to produce large beautiful berries and in landscape design.

The blueberry tree is a vigorous spreading deciduous shrub, its height depends on the climate and conditions, ranges from 1 to 3 m, the crown diameter reaches an average of 2 m. The root system of the blueberry is fibrous, densely branched. The stalks of garden blueberries are straight, strong, annually lengthened due to young shoots. Shoots are medium or thin, slightly ribbed, green or greenish-red, hairless, shiny. The growth buds of the blueberry tree are small, oblong, pointed, located throughout the shoot and in the axils of the leaves. The flower buds of the blueberry tree are light green in color, spherical, formed on new shoots – 1 apical and 2-3 lateral, bloom in May. The leaves of garden blueberries are medium in size, green, oval, smooth, shiny, even or finely serrate at the edges. They turn red in autumn and fall off in winter.

White or pale pink jug-shaped flowers are collected in racemose drooping inflorescences. Corolla sympetalous, 5-toothed. Blueberries are round or slightly flattened, up to 2,5 cm in diameter and weighing 1,4-1,9 g, sweet, fragrant. The color varies from blue to almost black, the skin is of medium thickness covered with a bluish bloom, the flesh is light, dense. The fruiting time of a blueberry tree differs depending on the variety, the average yield is 3-5 kg ​​per bush.

Blueberry varieties

Selection of garden blueberries is ongoing, new varieties appear with different ripening periods, increased yields and resistance to adverse climatic conditions. According to the degree of growth, they are divided into high and semi-high, according to the time of ripening – into early, medium and late.

In the Central Siberian Botanical Garden, semi-high varieties of garden blueberries were bred, not distinguished by high yields, but resistant to major diseases and able to withstand frosts down to -43 ˚С. Universal blueberry varieties recommended for cultivation throughout Our Country: Blue placer, Divnaya, Shegarskaya, Taiga beauty, Nectarnaya, Iksinskaya, Graceful.

Recently, some gardeners have become addicted to growing a plant called Bilberry forte (or Sunberry). Probably, this was facilitated by the advertising company of the drug of the same name for eye health. In fact, the shrub has no, even the most remote relation to blueberries – it is an annual of the nightshade family. The conditions for growing Bilberry forte are radically different from those created for garden varieties, since this is a completely different species.

Features of growing blueberries in the garden

The blueberry tree is very demanding on climatic conditions; for successful fruiting and ripening of shoots, summer must be warm. Most varieties have high frost resistance, but in the absence of snow cover, plants can freeze slightly. Spring return frosts down to -1 ˚С do not harm garden blueberries. The shrub begins to bloom in May, ripen in July-October, depending on the variety. The fruiting period of garden blueberries stretches for 1-1,5 months, which allows for a long time to collect fresh berries. Cross-pollination increases the volume and quality of the crop; several specimens with the same flowering period should be planted in one area. With proper care, the blueberry tree lives 40-50 years.

Planting and caring for garden blueberries

For the successful cultivation of garden blueberries in the country, a number of rules should be observed that provide it with favorable conditions for rooting, development, fruiting and wintering.

Selection and preparation of the landing site

For planting a blueberry tree, you should choose a sunny area, preferably not on the south side. It should be well protected from the winds, cold air should not stagnate in it. Garden blueberries grow well on light, moist, well-drained nutrient soils with water at a level of 40-60 cm from the surface. Loams and loams with a pH level of 4,5 ̶5,2 are preferred. A garden plot should be prepared for planting a blueberry tree a year earlier – to stabilize and enrich the soil.

Heavy soils must be loosened by adding sawdust, river sand, ground bark or vegetable humus. Favorable sowing in the garden plot of green manure, followed by incorporation into the soil.

Preparation of planting material

The acquisition of high-quality healthy seedlings is an important condition in the cultivation of bush blueberries. Particular attention should be paid to the condition of the roots. The open root system of garden blueberries requires special conditions for transportation and temporary storage, in particular, timely sufficient moisture. No one can guarantee the health and quality of such seedlings. Preference should be given to biennial blueberry trees grown and sold in special containers. If you choose 5-6-year-old plants, it will be a more expensive and “early” option – after spring planting in the summer you can harvest the first crop of garden blueberries.

How to plant blueberries

Garden blueberries are planted in spring (April) or autumn (early September). In the first case, the danger of damage to the plant by rodents and freezing in the event of a harsh winter is excluded. In the second, they will have time to take root well before the cold weather, during this period, blueberry seedlings are less susceptible to pest attacks and diseases. In the southern regions and temperate latitudes, it is better to plant a blueberry tree in the fall, in the northern regions – in the spring.

Planting pits for garden blueberries with dimensions of 1×0,6 m are prepared in advance, 15-30 days in advance, the distance between them should be at least 2 m. Drainage from small stones or broken bricks is laid out at the bottom. Sour peat, rotted pine litter, 1 tbsp. is added to the soil taken out of the pit. l. complete mineral fertilizer. 15 minutes before planting a blueberry tree, the roots should be soaked in warm water, no need to remove a lump of earth from the roots. Having placed a blueberry plant in a hole, it is necessary to water it abundantly and cover the roots with soil.

Watering and top dressing

Garden blueberries need regular watering, while they do not tolerate stagnant moisture in the roots or drought. The top layer of soil should always be damp – to maintain a favorable level of humidity, it is recommended to mulch the near-stem zone. The blueberry tree is fed three times per season with complex mineral fertilizers (1 tbsp per m²) or special preparations Fertika Universal, Fertika Lux, Mortar, Aciplex, FLORTISGOLD. To maintain the optimal level of soil acidity once a month, blueberries are recommended to be watered with a solution of citric acid (1 tsp / 10 l of water). All dressings are applied to the near-stem circle, to the mulch.

Trimming

Young garden blueberry bushes are not pruned for 3-4 years. Subsequently, it grows with thickening shoots. If the branches of blueberries do not receive enough light, the berries will be small and sour. To avoid this, the blueberry tree is pruned. It comes in 3 types:

• Sanitary – diseased, dry and damaged shoots are removed, carried out in spring and autumn.
• Formative – used on blueberry bushes from 4 years old, its purpose is to thin the crown.
• Rejuvenating – in a 10-year-old plant, branches older than 6 years are cut.

Even in favorable conditions, in the absence of timely pruning, blueberries in the garden will not bear fruit well, a small number of small berries will be tied on a bush overloaded with branches. It is optimal if there are 5-8 strong branches on the bush, growing from the rhizome or stumps located near the ground after rejuvenating pruning. Annually, the crown of a blueberry tree needs to be thinned out by a third, root shoots should be removed, annual shoots should be shortened to 1-2 buds. After the event, garden blueberries need to be fed with ammonium sulfate and the soil should be mulched with acidic peat.

Preparation for winter

Despite the fact that most varieties of garden blueberries tolerate frosts down to -35 ˚С well, they need to be insulated for the winter. If the winter is harsh and snowless, the plants may freeze, up to their death. The first thing to do before the onset of cold weather is to water the blueberry tree for the winter, 4-6 buckets of water for each plant. Then it is necessary to carefully cover the roots by pouring a thick layer (20 cm) of earth or mulch in the trunk circle. Tall blueberry bushes are bent down and pinned to the ground; this is not necessary with undersized ones.

It is necessary to cover garden blueberries with the onset of the first frosts – spruce branches, agrofiber or spunbond. Subsequently, snow will need to be thrown onto this shelter; this design will create reliable protection against frost.

How to grow a blueberry tree from seeds

The fruits of blueberries contain a large number of seeds – this encourages many to try to grow a seedling on their own. There is nothing difficult in the process, it will only take time and patience. Seeds are selected from fully ripened healthy large fruits. After mashing the pulp of blueberries into gruel, the seeds are separated and immersed in water. Those that have surfaced are discarded, those remaining at the bottom are immediately sown (in August) or dried and stored in a paper bag until April-May. In the latter case, they need to be stratified within 3 months (starting from January). Blueberry seedlings are grown in special containers.

Blueberry seeds are scattered on the surface of the nutrient substrate and covered with a 3 mm layer of sand. The container is covered with glass or film and placed in a warm, bright place. Crops of garden blueberries need to be watered and ventilated periodically. After 4 weeks, the first shoots will appear. After the formation of a pair of true leaves, the sprouts are transferred to separate containers for growing. During this period, blueberries need to be watered abundantly and mineral fertilizers applied. With the onset of consistently warm weather, blueberry seedlings are transferred to the “shkolka” – a temporary site, where they will stay for 2 years. Only after that they can be transferred to a permanent place. Growing a blueberry tree at home from seeds is a long process aimed at breeding and selecting the most powerful and promising specimens.

Reproduction of blueberries

In addition to the seed method, garden blueberries also reproduce vegetatively. To obtain new seedlings, separate parts of plants are used:

• Cuttings – in February-March, planting material 2-20 cm long is cut from well-ripened and lignified annual shoots 25 cm thick.
• Young shoots – at the end of June, young shoots are torn from the stem, the lower leaves are removed.
• Layering – from April to September, the lower branches of the blueberry bush are pinned to the ground and sprinkled with sawdust and fertile soil. After rooting, the branch is separated from the mother plant and transplanted into a “school”.

Propagation of the blueberry tree by layering is the least popular method, the branches take root for a long time (2-3 years), and allow you to get a small number of new plants.

Diseases and pests

Garden blueberries are highly resistant to diseases and are slightly affected by pests. Under adverse conditions and malnutrition, the plant’s immunity decreases, it becomes susceptible to fungal and viral infections – stem cancer, rot, phomopsis, red leaf spot, mummification of berries, mosaic. Since such diseases spread through the blueberry tree very quickly, you need to act after the first symptoms appear:

• leaves become stained, curl, fall off;
• bark, branches, inflorescences dry out;
• berries, shoots stop development and die.

Affected plant parts are removed and burned. The blueberry tree is treated with “Topsin”, “Euparen”, “Fundazol”. To prevent fungal diseases, the root zone is sprayed with Bordeaux liquid twice a year. Before flowering and after picking berries, it is recommended to treat blueberry bushes with preparations “Skor”, “Tersel”, “Tridex”, “Fufanon”.

Pests attack the blueberry tree to a lesser extent and do not do much harm. Sometimes it is enough just to collect them by hand. Most often, caterpillars, aphids, flower beetles, leafworms, kidney mites, and beetles can be found on a garden blueberry bush. If the mechanical method of struggle is ineffective, it is worth resorting to popular insecticides: Fitoverma, Aktar, Dendrobacillin, Bitoxibacillin.

The crop of the blueberry tree and birds are damaged; to protect the bushes, they must be covered with a fine mesh net.

Conclusion

Garden blueberries are a plant that is just beginning to gain popularity among gardeners in Our Country. Planting and caring for it does not require much trouble and is not associated with any difficulties. New cultivars are regularly introduced to grow on an industrial scale. By creating favorable conditions and following the rules of care, you can annually get a stable harvest of beautiful, large, tasty and healthy berries from a blueberry tree.

Reviews of gardeners about garden blueberries