How to Start Young Blueberry Plants by Layering

Blueberries are sun-, water- and acid-loving plants that grow best in areas where they receive warm summers and cold winters. Northern states like Maine and Maryland are well known for their wild and commercial blueberry crops, as are Southern states like North Carolina. These plants can live for more than 50 years and provide fruit every summer with the right care. If one bush is not enough, though, take some easy steps to propagate new blueberry bushes using stems from your established bush.

Quick-draining soil
Organic compost
Knife
Spade
Stake

Instructions

- 1
  Layer your blueberry bush in spring or summer. Choose a low-growing branch or stem on your blueberry bush, and make sure that it can bend down to reach the ground 1 to 2 feet from the established bush. This will be your layering stem. If you want to propagate two new bushes, choose another such stem on the other side of the bush.
- 2
  Amend the soil in the sites where the stems touch the ground. Dig 3 inches of organic compost and 1 inch of quick-draining soil into the top 6 inches of soil at these sites to give the new bushes quick-draining and nutritious foundations.
- 3
  Use a knife to scrape an inch of bark off the chosen stem in the spot where it touches the ground. Dig a hole 2 to 3 inches deep, push the wounded area of the stem into the ground and pack amended soil over it to secure the planting.
- 4
  Stake the end of the shoot up to keep it growing vertically. Water the shoot on the same calendar as you water your blueberry bush. The wounded area on the stem will take root and establish as a new plant. Transplant your new plant after at least one season of growing.

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