Tussiemussie's Garden
Blueberry
Genus: Vaccinium.
Species: Vaccinium.
Require an acid soil., so I have mine in tubs.
A mulch of well rotten sawdust, chipped wood bark or pine needles, around the plant helps to conserve moisture, and keep weeds down.
To help plant growth, a couple of ounces of a fertiliser suitable for Camellias, (10-10-10) applied around the plant in May is all that is needed. Do not put the fertiliser on any earlier, the plant cannot make good use of it until shoots are appearing.
Organic fertilisers do the job as well, a little more will be necessary because nutrient levels are lower in organic fertilisers. It will also have to be applied a month earlier as organic fertiliser takes longer to became active.
Blueberries need regular pruning to maintain plant vigour and high quality berry production. The best time to prune is between January and March when the plant is dormant.
For the first 2-3 years of a blueberry's life (and they can live to over 50 years!) very little pruning is necessary apart from keeping the plant tidy. After that there are really 4 steps to pruning, to ensure a good supply of new fruit bearing wood (remember, that Blueberries produce fruit on branches that were produced the previous year)
1) Prune out all dead wood.
2) Locate the oldest canes and prune out one of every six canes. This makes sure that the old canes that do not produce fruit well are removed to make way for younger more productive canes.
3) Prune out all low branches which will never be picked and are a source for disease.
4) Remove all twiggy wood, on the ends of fruiting laterals
