Blueberry Bush Planting Guide

For the best results, you want to select a site location that receives full sun for at least half the day and has a ph range of 4.5 to 5.2. Blueberries will grow and produce in shade, though the production will be slight less, and you can lower your soil ph by adding sulfur five to six months prior to planting. Spacing of the rabbiteye blueberry bush should be five feet apart with your rows twelve feet apart.

If your site location is considered wet, the blueberry would be better suited to being grown in a raised bed. Dig the hole three times the size of the root structure. If your blueberry plant was grown in a container, it needs to be loosened prior to planting. If you are planting a bare root blueberry you want to make sure you spread the roots out evenly in the hole. Plant at a depth similar to the depth at which the plant was at grown at the nursery or in a container; backfill the hole with native soil, wet peat moss, and pine bark.

After planting, you want to prune the plant immediately by one third overall; remove low growth and snip the remaining tips. The goal is to prune off all flower buds, as you do not want the blueberry to fruit the first year; instead you want it to get solid established for future harvesting seasons.

The only fertilization your blueberry plants need the first year is Nutri-Pak 1st Year Fertilizer Packs 16-16-16 offered for sale. A Nutri-Pak is custom engineered with micro-porous holes to take the guess work out of fertilizing. Simply bury the packet 1ft away and six inches deep. Do not pierce of open the bag. Do not fertilize at the time of planting (late fall through early spring); instead wait until April, or when the leaves emerge and the plant begins to grow, to fertilize with one ounce of 10-10-10. The same application can be done again in June and remember not to put the fertilizer within a foot and half of the blueberry trunk.

You will need to water the plants depending on rainfall. It is highly recommend to plant with a Soil Moist Transplant Mix offered for sale. It will cut your watering needs down by 50% and also supply the plant with a minor element mix that you soils may be lacking. You simply put the tea bag looking packet at the bottom of the hole 1 per plant for the best results, do not open or pierce the pack. If you are not receiving rainfall, water the blueberry plants with three gallons of water three times a week for the first year when in drought or when the plant starts to wilt.