| 
Fruit:
Dark blue, edible, sweet. Good for fresh eating, jams and
jellies.
Soil
Requirements: Low pH of 4.5 to 5.5, well-drained
soil.
Size: 20" tall and 30-40" wide
Sun:
Full sun
Uses: Mixed border, shrub border, hedge or
as an accent or specimen plant. Attracts birds.
Hardiness: Zones 4-8
Native: to North America
|
Northcountry is a great choice for home gardeners that want
a productive plant that is also attractive in the landscape.
The skyblue fruit is large (1/2”) with a sweet, mild
flavor. A mature plant can produce from 2 to 3 pounds of fruit,
and picking can extend 2 to 3 weeks. A mature plant grows
20" tall and 30-40" wide. Very winter hardy to -30
degrees.
What you'll receive:
2-year, field-grown plants with 12 to 18-inch long stems and
shipped bareroot (no soil or pot)
and dormant (no foliage). Learn more about
our plants.
Shipping: $0-$75=$12.00, $75.01-$125=$15, $125.01-$200=$20, >$200=10% of total. Shipped UPS Ground in
spring from early April through mid May.
[Catalog #FS07]
About Blueberries: In addition to the tasty
fruit, hardy blueberries make excellent landscape plants.
They have glossy-green leaves and attractive flowers and fruit.
And in the fall, the foliage turns brilliant orange to red
colors. Blueberries require an acid soil with a pH of 4.5
to 5.5 that is well-drained but consistently moist. Full sun
for best fruit production. Birds love blueberries so be sure
to plant enough to share!
Blueberries require an acid soil with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5
that is well-drained but consistently moist and high in organic
matter. They need full sun for best fruit production. Space
3-feet apart. Prune in late winter to maintain desired shape
and size.
To prepare your soil, first have it tested for pH. This can
be done through your county extension office. Next, add lots
of organic matter to increase soil fertility and drainage.
Also add sulphur to reduce the pH if necessary. Sulfur chips
added to soil will reduce the pH over time. Iron sulphate
will reduce the pH quickly, but is not long lasting. Here's
a good soil amending recipe for blueberries: for each plant,
dig a hole 2-feet wide and about 16-inches deep. Save the
top 6 inches of soil and mix in 1 or 2 bushels of compost
or well-rotted sawdust and 1 cup wettable sulfur. Mix well
and backfill the hole with this after setting your blueberry
plant.
Blueberries are produced on one-year old wood. But during
the first five years after planting, prune your plants only
to remove dead or damaged growth. After five years, prune
in the spring before the leaves start to grow by cutting out
any weak, old stems at ground level. Keep four to six of the
vigorous older stems and one to two strong new shoots per
mature bush. The new shoots will eventually replace the older
stems.
Fertilize your plants once a year in the spring before the
plants bloom with a fertilizer formulated for acid-loving
plants, such as azaleas. Also, protect your plants from rabbit
damage in the winter by enclosing them in chicken wire.
What's a "bareroot" plant?
 "Bareroot"
is a term that describes how a plant is shipped to you. A
bareroot plant is not in a pot, and is usually dormant (not
actively growing). See the photo to the right that shows what
a bareroot rose looks like. The bareroot plants that we ship
to you were harvested in the fall and placed in cold storage
over the winter to keep them dormant. In the spring, we ship
the bareroot plants to our customers, from early April through
mid May.
Bareroot plants are easy to grow. We include planting instructions
with your order. When you receive your plant, take it out
of the packing material and place it in a bucket of water
so that the roots are completely covered. Let the roots soak
for 4 to 24 hours, then plant it in your garden. Full planting
instructions with photos are available on our planting
shrubs page.
|
