When is the best time to plant blueberry bushes?

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Spring is the best time to plant blueberries. The roots of dormant, bare-root plants should be soaked in water for about an hour before planting. Dig a hole approximately 18 to 24 inches deep and 2 feet wide. Set the plant at the same depth it grew in the nursery. Then backfill with a 50:50 mixture of soil and moist peat.

After planting, prune back the plant by 1/2 by removing the small side branches and by heading back the main branches. Also, thoroughly water each blueberry plant. Highbush blueberries should be spaced 4 to 6 feet apart. A 3 to 4 foot spacing is adequate for the smaller half-high blueberries.

Plant 2 or 3 blueberry varieties to insure adequate pollination and fruit set. Blueberries have a shallow, fibrous root system. Plants quickly become stressed during hot, dry weather. To help retain moisture and control weeds, apply 3 to 5 inches of mulch around blueberry plants. Sawdust, wood chips, pine needles, and shredded leaves are excellent mulching materials.

During dry weather, water plants weekly. Blueberry plants should not be allowed to bear fruit the first 2 years after planting. Any blossoms which form should be removed. Removal of the flowers will maximize vegetative growth and increase yields in later years. Blueberry plants should come into full production by the fifth or sixth year.