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| Considered the best all around variety for adaptability, consistent yields, high quality fruit and disease resistance. Bluecrop is perhaps the most widely planted variety in the U.S. Large, high quality fruit ripening mid-season. Plants grow 4-6' tall in an upright, open growth habit. |
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Landscape Uses, Planting and Care
- SITE: Choose a well drained location in full to partial sun in a loamy or sandy soil with a pH of 4.5-5.2. At planting, dig a hole 18 inches deep and 18 inches wide and mix existing soil 50/50 with mushroom compost, leaf based compost or coir. Place the plant in the hole and fill around root ball with the remaining mix. Set plants 3-4' apart with rows 6-8' apart, alternating cultivars for effective cross-pollination. Growth is slow and production will peak at 6-8 years of age.
- MULCH: Apply wood-chip mulch generously in a 2' wide band after planting at a 4" depth.
- WATER IS ESSENTIAL: Blueberry bushes have very shallow root systems and are sensitive to water fluctuations. They need at least 1-2" of water each week. In dry seasons, supplemental water is essential to obtain good yields of high quality products. Supplemental water is not generally needed starting in September unless soil is very dry.
- PRUNING: Blueberry plant should have no more than sixteen canes - one or two for each year, up to eight years of growth. This is done by allowing only two canes to grow each year from the time bushes are planted until they are eight years old, when the oldest two canes should be an inch in diameter. Early in the ninth year, the two largest canes and all but the two largest one-year-old canes should be removed. When repeated annually, this technique minimizes uneven growth and production, the oldest canes are continually replaced with the same number of new canes, and the bushes are kept a uniform size. Highbush blueberries will grow up to 4' tall and yield large berries in late summer.
- HARVESTING: Blueberries ripen over several weeks and require two to four pickings. Harvest begins in early July and extends into September depending on the variety, weather and location. To pick by hand, gently roll berries between your thumb and forefinger, removing fully ripe berries and leaving unripe berries for the next picking.
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