How to Grow Berry Trees in East Texas

Select berry types and varieties from your local nursery that succeed in East Texas. For example, rabbiteye blueberries do well in East Texas; some recommended varieties are Delite, Tifblue, Britleblue and Brightwell. Buy and plant two to three varieties of blueberry for pollination purposes. Rosborough, Navajo and Hull are suitable blackberry varieties and Chandler, Sequoia, and Parajo are suitable for strawberries. For raspberries, the Dormanred variety has proven successful in the East Texas city of Tyler.

Plant raspberries, blueberries and blackberries in February. Plant strawberries in late September to harvest in the spring, as strawberries grown as annuals proves more successful than growing them as perennials in Texas.

Prepare the soil for planting. Select an area that receives full sun and has well-drained soil. East Texas Gardening recommends digging a hole 3 feet deep and filling it with water. If the water is completely absorbed within 24 hours, the soil is well-drained.

Remove all weeds and debris from the planting site. Add organic material, such as shredded pine bark or peat moss to the soil for blueberry plants, states the Texas Agri Life Extension Service. Mix a 15-5-10 fertilizer into the soil for strawberry plants, notes Dr. Larry Stein in "Texas Gardener." Set up a trellis or vertical structure for raspberries to climb.

Plant blackberry plants 3 feet apart, blueberries 6 feet apart, strawberries 1 foot apart and raspberries at least 2 feet apart. Do not plant blackberry plants near any wild blackberry bushes to avoid the risk of fungal disease spread.

Water your plants well after planting. Continue to water every four days, unless it rains, for the next two weeks. Work your way up to watering every five days all the way up to every 20 days by adjusting the frequency every two weeks. Strawberry plants may need to be watered every day at first if the soil is dry.

Apply a mulch around the base of each plant using an organic material such as wood chips, bark chips, saw dust or leaves to avoid weed infestation and in the case of strawberries to provide winter protection.

Apply a nitrogen-rich fertilizer to the soil for strawberry plants every three weeks.