Vaccinium
Common Name: Blueberry
Overview
| Plant Type | Perennial |
| Hardiness Zone | ? |
Cultivars
| Cultivar | Height | Spread | Blooms | Sun | Planted |
| Bluecrop Vaccinium corymbosum | 4-6' | 2-3' | n/a | Full Sun | Berry garden |
| Jersey Vaccinium corymbosum | 4-6' | 2-3' | n/a | Full Sun | Berry garden |
Ongoing Management
Pruning / Cutting Back
Annual pruning of healthy blueberry bushes ensures stable yields of fruit year to year and helps eliminate pests and diseases.
There will be no need to prune in the first couple of years. Instead, rub off the fruit buds to promote vegetative growth. You can also prune the tips of the shoots when the flower buds appear.
Prune in early spring of the third year - waiting until after the harvest can make the bushes susceptible to injury in winter's cold. Trim away dead branches without fruiting buds, down to the base of the plant. Keep a half dozen or so fruit-bearing canes per bush.
Blueberries are bred for pest and disease resistance, but if you have a good site and quality plants and still encounter problems, try a little extra TLC with a blanket of mulch. Promptly trim away diseased branches and be sure to wipe down the pruners between cuts.
Tip: Keep your pruners clean between cuts with alcohol wipes or a spray of Lysol. This will keep diseases from spreading.
The book noted below, Pruning Simplified (pgs 138-139), is also a good read regarding the pruning of this bush.
Harvesting
You'll know that blueberries are ripe when they are plump and colored a deep blue with a dusting of gray. Any hint of red means the berry is still tart and not yet sweet. White and green colored blueberries, while beautiful, are not ripe and need more time on the bush. Blueberries with a bit of red or purple will ripen at room temperature after they are picked.
When grown organically, you can eat blueberries out of hand, right off the bush.
Blueberries also freeze well. Spread out unwashed berries (washing removes the waxy bloom that protects the berries) on a sheet pan and freeze overnight. Place frozen berries in containers or freezer bags, label and tuck away to be enjoyed later.
More Information
Books and Papers
- Pruning Simplified: a Visual Guide to 50 Trees and Shrubs, by Steven Bradley.
Web Sites
- Gardenia.net
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