Mid-August new growth during a heatwave and drought
The most important thing for anyone who loves blueberries and their plants is to make sure all plants produce new growth for the entire growing season. Most of the flower buds that produce blueberries the following year are populated on this new growth so if you ignore your blueberry plants during the current growing season, the following year’s blueberry production will be a fraction of what it would have been if new growth was maximized.
To get new growth blueberries need to be fed, watered, and planted in good soil.
The watering part of blueberries is pretty self explanatory. If you're watering it properly, you should get new growth from May all the way through to October. Be careful not to over water because that is almost more damaging to the plant then underwatering. If you have questions about this you can refer to our "how to water" page.
We fertilize everything in the nursery with Harrell's 17-6-12 which is a 9 month fertilizer. We apply it UNDER the mulch in the middle of March and again at half strength in September/October. For feeding instructions, refer to our "How to feed" section. Many people use weird concoctions to fertilize their plants but there's no commercial nursery that does this and you shouldn't either. Don't try to rethink the wheel- modern fertilizers are balanced for most every plants needs. We use the same fertilizer on everything in the nursery, and that's thousands of plants. We've tried using different fertilizers for different things but its a pointless endeavor. We just keep our lives simple and use the same fertilizer for everything and our plants perform nicely.
To get new growth blueberries need to be fed, watered, and planted in good soil.
The watering part of blueberries is pretty self explanatory. If you're watering it properly, you should get new growth from May all the way through to October. Be careful not to over water because that is almost more damaging to the plant then underwatering. If you have questions about this you can refer to our "how to water" page.
We fertilize everything in the nursery with Harrell's 17-6-12 which is a 9 month fertilizer. We apply it UNDER the mulch in the middle of March and again at half strength in September/October. For feeding instructions, refer to our "How to feed" section. Many people use weird concoctions to fertilize their plants but there's no commercial nursery that does this and you shouldn't either. Don't try to rethink the wheel- modern fertilizers are balanced for most every plants needs. We use the same fertilizer on everything in the nursery, and that's thousands of plants. We've tried using different fertilizers for different things but its a pointless endeavor. We just keep our lives simple and use the same fertilizer for everything and our plants perform nicely.
This blueberry plant dried out at the nursery so try to pay attention to your plant's watering needs
If I were a blueberry plant, I'd like to grow in this soil.
Notice how the roots in my hands are actively growing with white tips- that's because the soil is really high quality organicky earth for the plant to grow in. Rocky, dry soil that has little or no organic matter in it will create hardship for a blueberry plant, so choose a spot to plant them where the soil is the kind that you would like to grow in if you were a plant. I'm telling you this from experience, because I planted a hillside of about 250 blueberry plants behind my house that I had to replant twice and finally remove because the soil was too hot, dry and sunny, and impossible to water. You just cannot fight the severity of summer droughts. Choosing the right spot enables mother nature to give you a helping hand.
In terms of sunlight, blueberries thrive in full sun (assuming the soil is good), part-sun, and lots of shade. Sunlight=energy, and blueberries require a lot of energy from the plant, so the more sunlight the blueberries get, the more berries you will eat.
In terms of sunlight, blueberries thrive in full sun (assuming the soil is good), part-sun, and lots of shade. Sunlight=energy, and blueberries require a lot of energy from the plant, so the more sunlight the blueberries get, the more berries you will eat.
Interveinal chlorosis on blueberry foliage caused by high pH resulting in lack of iron uptake
The yellow you see between the veins in this photo is caused by the soil having too high a pH, when the plant's pH requirements are lower. If you see this on your blueberry plants you will need to add a soil acidifier. To apply this granular product, get on your hands and knees to scrape the mulch away from the soil at the base of the plant. Read the directions on the label carefully before you apply it so that you don't put too much on. Over application can damage or kill the plant.
I'm not sure if interveinal chlorosis damage will turn green again. Once the pH has been adjusted, the growth will return back to it's nice, shiny green. The mechanism of plant damage is that at the wrong pH, iron is not absorbed by the roots of the plant so what you're basically seeing is iron deficiency manifested by improper pH. Since the native Connecticut soil is acidic, the chances of you getting the phenomenon is unlikely, but we see it here at the nursery because out potting soil has a pH of 7.0 so we have to deal with this periodically. When we apply aluminum sulfate, we take the opportunity to reapply the fertilizer which maybe you could consider also.
I'm not sure if interveinal chlorosis damage will turn green again. Once the pH has been adjusted, the growth will return back to it's nice, shiny green. The mechanism of plant damage is that at the wrong pH, iron is not absorbed by the roots of the plant so what you're basically seeing is iron deficiency manifested by improper pH. Since the native Connecticut soil is acidic, the chances of you getting the phenomenon is unlikely, but we see it here at the nursery because out potting soil has a pH of 7.0 so we have to deal with this periodically. When we apply aluminum sulfate, we take the opportunity to reapply the fertilizer which maybe you could consider also.
A happy blueberry plant, where all it's needs are met.
I am a horticulturist and have been growing plants for decades, and I have to say that think blueberries are possibly the easiest plant to grow and my favorite plant to sell. Blueberries are deer proof, native, support pollinators, feed the birds, bring happiness in the fall with their maroon-red fall color, and their interesting structural canopy in the wintertime. Having said that, they're not immune to attack by pathogens. There are borers which can kill one stem at a time, Japanese beetles that can swarm all over the berries, and other miscellaneous issues but I can honestly say that if your plant is healthy you will not experience these problems. People ask us all the time about pruning blueberries, but we don't prune our blueberries so you can refer to the internet for instructions. Lastly, I wouldn't be surprised if the lifespan of blueberries is over 100 years so if everything goes right then you have decades of enjoyment ahead of you.
Blueberries in the grocery store are so heavily treated with chemicals that they are at the top of the list for food in the grocery store with chemical residuals, so if you can grow your own at home, you're able to eat this healthy food packed with antioxidants, nutrients, and fiber.
Blueberries in the grocery store are so heavily treated with chemicals that they are at the top of the list for food in the grocery store with chemical residuals, so if you can grow your own at home, you're able to eat this healthy food packed with antioxidants, nutrients, and fiber.
This is an ideal example of how to cover a single blueberry plant.
Alot of things can go wrong when you cover your blueberry plants so follow these instructions and you'll have great results.
Drive stakes into the ground around the plant so that they're about 12 inches taller than the height of the plant. Tie weedwhacker twine (or similar) at the top of the stakes and criss-cross them so the netting doesn't drape down onto the top of the plant. When the netting touches the plant, it can remove blueberries, leaves and twigs when you go inside to harvest so the twine protects that from happening. Anchor the bottom of the netting securely. Birds are really smart and will find any opening and will be trapped inside and get tangled in the netting. Theres almost nothing more depressing than seeing a dead bird stuck to the netting and you want to avoid that at all costs. If you cover your blueberry plant like this, youll get every single berry, and because you grew them yourself you will be the only person to have ever touched it and will benifit from a 100% organic, clean, incredible crop, and this is what its all about.
Drive stakes into the ground around the plant so that they're about 12 inches taller than the height of the plant. Tie weedwhacker twine (or similar) at the top of the stakes and criss-cross them so the netting doesn't drape down onto the top of the plant. When the netting touches the plant, it can remove blueberries, leaves and twigs when you go inside to harvest so the twine protects that from happening. Anchor the bottom of the netting securely. Birds are really smart and will find any opening and will be trapped inside and get tangled in the netting. Theres almost nothing more depressing than seeing a dead bird stuck to the netting and you want to avoid that at all costs. If you cover your blueberry plant like this, youll get every single berry, and because you grew them yourself you will be the only person to have ever touched it and will benifit from a 100% organic, clean, incredible crop, and this is what its all about.
One year's harvest.
The way to store blueberries if you cant eat everything you've grown is to pick them, wash them, and pour the blueberries onto a bath towel on the countertop to dry them out. Roll them a few times to separate the stems and and debris that didn't get washed off and make sure they're dry before putting them in a Ziploc bag. As soon as you've done that, put them in the freezer and enjoy them weeks or months later. Lexi Osborne, who is a valued member of the nursery (who's good at everything that she does) shared with us a fun way to eat blueberries. When you feel like a special treat go to the freezer, pour the berries into a cereal bowl and add milk up to the top. Somehow, the blueberries freeze the milk into a solid block that you can pick away at with a spoon. It takes awhile to eat the frozen blueberry milk, and is so much fun!
Blueberry "icecream"
I harvested at the nursery about 150 pounds of blueberries this year, and I eat a bowl of blueberries every single day. I hope you have the same positive experience in your life from this wonderful plant.