The Best Time to Plant Blueberry Plants

Preparation

• Choose a cultivar (variant) that works well in your area. Mixing two varieties helps produce stronger, larger, healthier crops. Blueberries need well-drained, light sandy loam soil, high in organic material (sawdust or mulch) with a pH between 4.5 and 5.5. Blueberries need full sunlight for best fruiting.

Planting Time

• Blueberry bushes should be 2 years old when set out. They can be planted in October, some weeks before the first frost, or in the spring from March through April. The plants need to be removed from the nursery container and planted in holes just less than an inch deeper than they were planted in the nursery pot. The holes should be 6 to 8 feet apart. Rows should be the same.

Insuring Growth

• To protect the shallow, rooted plants, set them in the holes, flood the holes with water, then after the water drains, fill around the plants with a soil mixture consisting of equal parts sand, loam and mulch. Fertilize in April after planting. If you plant in the fall, work some manure into the beds two weeks or so before you plant. Clip the blossoms so they do not produce fruit the first year and irrigate as needed.