Blueberry Bonanza

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A better and faster option is to amend your soil with humusy material, such as composted leaf litter, which lowers soil pH, boosts organic matter and improves soil drainage — all critical for blueberries. “The humus has natural tannic acids that acidify the soil,” Finch says. Just avoid including manure or maple leaves, which raise pH. If you don’t have access to humusy material, you can work moist sphagnum peat moss into your planting holes.

For each blueberry bush, prepare an area 2 to 3 feet wide and 12 to 18 inches deep. Remove the soil and mix it with an equal amount of leaf compost or moistened peat moss. (Finch suggests using about a half bushel of compost or peat per plant, as a general rule.) Backfill the hole with the soil and compost or peat mixture to form a mound. Plant your blueberries in the raised mounds, keeping the shrubs at the same depth they were in their pots.

Plant highbush blueberries 4 to 5 feet apart and rabbiteyes 6 to 8 feet apart. If your plants are potted, gently tease apart the roots before planting. As soon as they are planted, water thoroughly to moisten the roots and close any air pockets in the soil.

Cool Climate Blueberries

Highbush. Growers in most of the East and Midwest, as well as those throughout most of the Pacific Northwest, have many excellent highbush varieties to choose from. Highbush blueberries grow 4 to 6 feet tall and bear the large, sweet berries commonly sold at the supermarket. For easy home growing and superior flavor, be sure to consider ‘Hannah’s Choice,’ ‘Elizabeth,’ ‘Blue Gold’ and ‘Little Giant,’ says Danny Hartmann, president of Hartmann’s Plant Co., a family-owned supplier of blueberries and other small fruits in Lacota, Mich.

‘Hannah’s Choice’ is the first to bear fruit, ripening medium to large, light berries with a subtle peach flavor, starting in late June in Michigan. The heirloom variety ‘Elizabeth’ — named for renowned blueberry researcher Elizabeth White — ripens in mid-season and produces large berries with fabulous, sweet flavor. Late-maturing ‘Blue Gold’ produces an abundance of tasty berries that hold their good quality for up to four weeks in the refrigerator. The plants are highly ornamental, too; in the fall, the glossy green leaves turn a lovely gold.

Save room for midseason-maturing ‘Little Giant,’ too. “It’s one of my favorites,” Hartmann says. “I love the flavor. The pea-size fruits are just outstanding, especially when chilled or frozen. I eat them straight from the freezer. And, research has shown that they rank among the highest varieties for antioxidants.” Growing to just 4 feet tall, the bushes are extremely productive (15 pounds per bush), easy to pick and adaptable to most soil types.

In the Pacific Northwest, ‘Bluecrop’ also can be counted on for reliable, midseason crops of large, flavorful berries, says Lynn Thompson, co-owner (with her husband Kevin) of Blueberry Meadows in Corvallis, Ore. “It’s versatile — good for fresh eating or baking — and easy to grow,” she says. “We sell our berries directly to the public, so flavor is key for us. When choosing varieties, home gardeners should read descriptions carefully. Varieties that say ‘suitable for U-Pick’ often are more flavorful than ones developed for commercial operations.”

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