Overview
Blueberry plants (Vaccinium corymbosum) are flowering evergreen or deciduous shrubs of the Azalea family. Blueberry plants have ovate leaves and bell-shaped blossoms in pink, white or red tones. These perennials produce the dark blue, nutrient-rich blueberry fruit.
Blueberry bush
image by "From the bush to your mouth in under 5 seconds!" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: lepiaf.geo (Gordana Adamovic-Mladenovic) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Types
The three primary types of blueberries are the highbush, the rabbiteye and the Southern highbush. There are many popular highbush varieties, including the Herbert blueberry, the bluejay blueberry and the bluecrop blueberry.
Fruit
Blueberry bushes start producing fruit in the third season, but aren't fully productive until the sixth. The blueberry fruit is ripe when it has turned a deep blue and pulls away from the cluster.
Requirements
Blueberry plants need free-draining, highly acidic soils rich with organic matter. The planting location should be fully sunny for optimum fruit quality and yield.
Care
Blueberry plants have shallow root systems that need at least 1 inch of water every week. Peat moss or sawdust mulches help conserve moisture, control weeds and increase nutrient intake.
Pruning
Blueberry bushes typically don't need any pruning for the first three seasons. Dormant blueberry plants should be pruned in the spring of the fourth season to stimulate growth.
Problems
Potential blueberry plant diseases include powdery mildew, mummy berry, botrytis blossom blight and leaf spots. Blueberry bushes are vulnerable to attacks from blueberry tip borers, cherry fruit worms and cranberry fruit worms.
- Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden
- BBC Gardening Guides: About Blueberries
- US Highbush Blueberry Council
- USDA Plants Profile: Highbush Blueberries
Keywords:
blueberry plant information, information on blueberry plants, information about blueberry plants, blueberry bush information, information on blueberry bushes
About this Author
Cat Carson has been a writer, editor and researcher for more than 10 years. She has professional experience in a variety of media, including the Internet, newspapers, newsletters and magazines. Her work has appeared on various websites. Carson holds master’s degrees in both writing and cultural anthropology, and is currently working toward becoming an actuary.
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