Ahhh, the glory of a bowl of fresh blueberries! And when you grow them yourself? Even better! But aren’t most berry bushes pretty huge? Yes. Don’t they need lots of care and support? Yes! Don’t they require special pruning? Yes!!

If you’ve been put off by the idea of incorporating a huge berry bush into your garden—and your schedule—we have dwarf bushes developed by Bushel & Berry®, created especially for the home gardener. Hooray!

Bushel & Berry® fruit bushes offer home gardeners these great features:

• Small, compact bushes are perfect for pots, planters and other containers.
• They grow well in garden beds with shrubs and flowers.
• They don’t need fancy care and extensive pruning.
• Allow you to grow your own berries, even on a balcony.
• They’re so easy to care for and fun to grow!

Here’s how to properly take care of your blueberry bushes so you don’t get the blues.

It’s easier to take care of your berry bushes when you make smart choices in the beginning…

First, choose a sunny spot for your blueberries, one with at least six hours of full sun. A little afternoon shade won’t do any harm, but too much shade will reduce your crops, although your bush itself may continue to grow.

Next, if you’ll be planting your blueberry bush in a container, choose a pot big enough to allow the roots to develop—something in the 12- to 16-inch-diameter range, and 10” deep.

Now, about the soil… Blueberry bushes love acidic soil, so if you’re putting one into a pot, be sure you use a soil mix for acid-loving plants. If you’re planting in the garden, choose a place in your garden with acidic soil, just check that it’s not too heavy and that it drains well. If it doesn’t, you may want to replace that soil with the appropriate mix.

Bonus, incorporating a little peat moss or shredded pine bark mulch into the soil itself will improve its drainage AND will boost its acidity at the same time. Adding more of that pine bark as a mulch topping is also good. See more about what mulch can do!

How much should you water your blueberry bushes?

Well, blueberries need a lot of water, and generally they need consistent moisture without being overwatered.

Always water thoroughly, so that if your bush is in a pot, water should flow out of the drainage holes. For landscape bushes, that usually means watering two or three times a week. For containers, you’ll want to check daily to see if you need to water.

Never water when it is not needed, though, and don’t leave a pot standing in a saucer of water for more than a short time; it will damage the roots. See more about proper watering methods for happy and healthy plants. 

What about feeding your blueberry bush?

You’ll want to fertilize your plants once a year, typically in the spring before the leaves have grown in to encourage new growth.

Blueberry plants like acidic fertilizers such as rhododendron or azalea formulations (or our Espoma Organic Berry-tone), and either granular or liquid fertilizers.

They also prefer high-nitrogen organic fertilizers such as blood meal and acidic cottonseed meal.

(And sprinkling spent coffee grounds around your plant is a great, inexpensive way to fertilize and help acidify your soil!)

The secret to pruning your blueberry bush…

Naturally, you’ll want to prune out any dead branches. You should do that in the spring. But later, when your plant is dormant (not actively growing), prune out one-third of the older canes, leaving invigorated branches to fruit the following season.

Blueberries bloom and fruit on old wood, so be sure that you don’t trim off too many of last season’s branches.

Winter care for your blueberry bush…

Bushel & Berry® varieties require little winter maintenance and can usually be left outside during colder months. You can mulch heavily around the base of your plant and give it extra water to help see it through.

Plants in pots and other containers need a little more attention; insulate your pot or move it against the house, into an unheated garage or basement, or even under a deck for the winter. For plants in pots, keep the soil moist, but not soaked.

Are you ready to pick fresh blueberries from your garden?

Your friends at the Garden Market are ready to help you make it happen! Come see our selection of Bushel & Berry® dwarf fruit bushes and find a place at home where you can add these amazing plants. Not only are they beautiful, but they produce delicious fruit!