Blueberries are the perfect low-maintenance fruit for any home landscape. These medium-sized shrubs will fit right into existing shrub borders and in addition to bearing highly nutritious and delicious fruit, blueberry plants provide lots of color, including a beautiful floral display in the spring, blue-green foliage in the summer and gorgeous red leaves in the fall.
For the best results, select rabbiteye blueberries. This species is native to South Carolina, and with proper care at planting, will be an enjoyable, long-term addition to your home garden. Specifically, blueberries need an acidic soil that is well-drained and high in organic matter. This means that most of the work of growing blueberries involves soil preparation. Select a site that is mostly sunny, then have the soil tested by your local Extension Office. If it comes back with a pH greater than 6, it will be difficult to adjust the pH down into blueberry’s preferred range of 4.5 to 5.2 and you should select another site.
Once you have found the appropriate location and corrected any soil deficiencies, adding organic matter will help blueberries flourish. I have experienced success incorporating equal parts peat moss and composted pine bark. Apply organic matter as a 4- to 6-inch layer over the planting area and rototill the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. This will result in an even mound of arkened soil, just right for your crop.
The site will then be ready to accept either bare-root or container-grown plants spaced about 6 feet apart. Blueberries are shallow rooted so don’t plant them too deep. The majority of their roots should be spread just below the soil surface. Lightly firm the soil around the plants and water thoroughly. Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch—pine bark mini-nuggets or pine straw works well—over the bed after planting, but do not pile the mulch against the plant stems.
Recommended rabbiteye varieties are divided into three groups based on bloom time: earlyseason (Brightwell, Climax and Premier), midseason (Briteblue, Powderblue and Tifblue) and late-season (Baldwin, Centurion and Delite). All of these varieties need cross-pollination for the best fruit set, so plant at least two varieties that have overlapping bloom times. If you plant varieties from all three groups, you can extend your harvest through the summer and enjoy fresh berries from late May until July.
For more information on growing blueberries, see Clemson Extension’s Home & Garden Information Center (HGIC) Fact Sheet 1401.
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