Blueberry plants are a fantastic fruit-bearing landscape choice — they’re delicious and nutritious. They thrive in various spaces, including small gardens and containers, making them suitable for limited spaces, like decks and apartments.
Plus, unlike fruit trees, they provide a first harvest one year after planting.
The handsome, edible shrubs add beauty to the garden. Compact blueberries are stunning when arranged on rock walls or in hanging baskets, while the deciduous plants provide vibrant fall colors. Evergreen cultivars like Sunshine Blue (Vaccinium × ‘Sunshine Blue’) display beautiful bronze-toned leaves in winter and pink and blue urn-shaped flowers in spring.
An exciting aspect of growing blueberries is the variety of cultivars. You can choose types that ripen in the early, mid, or late season.
Amy Daniel, the marketing manager at breeder and grower Fall Creek Farm and Nursery (Lowell, Oregon), recommended planting types that ripen at various times, so you get a prolonged harvest all season long. “Oregon gardeners can have fruit spanning early July through later August. This planting strategy will ensure enough berries for fresh eating all summer, with plenty to freeze for later.”
Her recommendations:
- Early — Blue Ribbon (Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Blue Ribbon’) and Duke (V.c. ‘Duke’).
- Mid — Top Shelf (V.c. ‘Top Shelf’), Darrow (V.c. ‘Darrow’), and Bluecrop (V.c. ‘Bluecrop’).
- Late — Chandler (V.c. ‘Chandler’) and Jersey (V.c. ‘Jersey’).
- Very Late — Elliott (V.c. ‘Elliott’), Last Call (V.c. ‘Last Call’ PP25386), and Aurora (V.c. ‘Aurora’).
Top Shelf boasts large berries; however, Darrow may surpass it with quarter-sized berries, which ripen in August. In some years, Elliot may still have ripe berries as late as early October.
“If you’re looking for very large blueberries, Chandler is a great choice.” Daniel said. “Ripening in the mid-to-late season, Chandler is also known for its longer harvest season of up to six weeks.”
The midseason blueberry, Blue Ribbon, is gaining popularity in home gardens for its large, flavorful berries and good shelf life.
A buyer for Garland Nursery in Corvallis, Mitch Goodlove-Pyles, said his four top choices for the Willamette Valley are EarliBlue (V.c. ‘Earliblue’), Duke, Chandler, and Berkely. “I like these varieties for their consistency. They all pollinate each other with at least overlapping flowering times. Chandler is hands down the heaviest harvest every year in my garden and has rather large berries as well.”
“All varieties can grow with success in containers, but there are several varieties bred for pots.” Goodlove-Pyles recommends several from Bushel and Berry® including Berry Bux® (V.c. ‘ZF08-095’ PP25467), Jelly Bean™ (V.c. ‘ZF06-179’ PP24662), Peach Sorbet® (V.c. ‘ZF06-043’ PP23325), Pink Icing® (V.c. ‘ZF06-079’ PP2336), Midnight Cascade (V.c. ‘FC12-187’ PP32185), Sapphire Cascade (V.c. ‘FC12-029’ PP32183), Perpetua (V.c. ‘Perpetua’ PP24209), Silver Dollar® (V.c. ‘ZF06-089’ PP32184), and Blueberry Buckle® (V.c. ‘Corablue’ PP22521). Other larger varieties will need at least a 10-gallon nursery pot. The blueberries can grow in containers for up to 10 years.
For small gardens, Goodlove-Pyles recommends the Bushel and Berry® series he noted for container growing, plus Brunswick (Vaccinium angustifolium ‘Brunswick’), Chippewa (V.a. × corymbosum ‘Chippewa’, Toro (V.c. ‘Toro’), Burgundy (V.a. ‘Burgundy’) and Top Hat (V.a. ‘Top Hat’).
”Half-high blueberries are a great option staying low and compact,” Daniel said.
Some blueberries offer unique qualities such as Northblue’s wild blueberry flavor combined with high yields and cold-hardiness, and Chippewa’s sky blue berry color, Daniel said.
Soil and light
The ideal soil for growing blueberries is loose, well-drained, and acidic, which is common west of the Cascades. Avoid planting them near concrete sidewalks and home foundations, where the soil is sweeter.
Also, ensure they receive at least six hours of sunlight daily.
Watering
Consistent watering is essential for these shrubs.
“Blueberries have shallow-growing roots and require good drainage,” Daniel said. “This requires consistent watering from bud-break through cool, autumn days. Drip or soaker hoses are ideal, but any watering method is fine as long as the plants receive regular watering. During warmer weather, blueberries grown in containers need daily watering. In the ground, watering blueberries 2-3 times per week is usually sufficient.”
Goodlove-Pyles recommended watering when the top one to two inches of soil feels dry. “This may increase during berry ripening as they consume more water during those weeks and need more water so the fruits aren’t underdeveloped due to lack of watering.”
Mulching helps retain moisture in the soil. “I mulch every year with wood chips throughout my entire row, and then every two years or so, I add a fresh dose of sawdust to the base of each plant,” Goodlove-Pyles said.
Pruning
“Pruning is a crucial aspect of blueberry plant care, especially for home gardeners aiming to maximize fruit production,” Daniel said. “While it may seem counterintuitive to prune away potential berries, it’s necessary. Starting from the second year, prune blueberry plants every winter during dormancy. This practice removes old branches that bear little fruit and prevents over-fruiting, which can lead to small berries and hinder future plant growth.
“Remove branches around the plant base, low, lateral branches, and blotchy-colored short growth. Remove dead-looking wood and keep the more bright-colored wood. The goal is to prune away at least one-third of the wood.”
Fertilizing and pH
Fertilize in early and late spring with acidic fertilizers for Rhododendrons and Azaleas. “Adding a soil acidifier over the years is needed to keep pH in favorable range,” Goodlove-Pyles said.
You can find affordable pH testing kits or meters at most nurseries.
How much to plant
To determine how many shrubs you need, consider how you intend to use the berries. Each shrub typically yields an average of five pounds of berries.
“The number of shrubs needed depends on how many people are in the household,” Daniel said. “A family of four should plant a minimum of eight plants for ample fresh eating. If the goal is fresh eating and baking and freezing, 16 plants is the minimum. No doubt you’ll want to share berries both with friends and the birds, so adjust accordingly!”