Blueberry Tree
Annie Schofield
Posts: 30
in Plants
I thought I might ask my children to buy me a blueberry tree for my upcoming birthday - but where to plant? is it best in the garden (south west facing), or on the deck in a nice big pot? And, are they difficult to cultivate?
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Hi, it will be a shrub not a tree. It will depend on a couple of things whether you put it in a pot or not - first your soil. Blueberries need an acid soil so if you can grow rhododendrons, acers or camellias successfully in your area the soil should be fine for it to go in the ground. What part of the country are you in?
It will need an open and sunny site that is sheltered from strong winds whether in a pot or not. There are easy enough to look after but will be more work in a pot - as they will dependon you for food and water. They have lovely autumn colour and are an attractive shrub.
Blueberry is very easy but you do need two plants,for pollination, and they must go in ericaceous soil, so if you haven't got acid soil they need to go in big pots.
I think the experts recommend two different varieties for pollination, but I have two of the same and the bushed are loaded. So far I have picked two big bowl fulls, and there are loads more coming, and that is from bushes only about two years old.
Yes, Daintiness, we have the right soil, and I have all the shrubs you mention growing in abundance. Lynn, thank you for the tip on pollination - I'm sure the children could afford 2! How close would they need to be to each other though?
Lidl is selling Blueberry bushes for £3.99 from 14th August if you have a store locally or your family has.
Hi Annie
Blueberries are quite easy to cultivate, not having some of the specialist pruning requirements some fruits have and have few pests in Britain. A word of caution, they do not like clay even if it is acid, their natural soil is deep woodland but they like our moorland type soils as well. If you are planting in the ground rather than a pot, incorporate lots of ericaceous compost into your soil.