How to Plant Blueberry Bushes in Alabama

Select the planting site. It must be well aerated and have good drainage with pH between 4.5 to 5.2. The plot should be in full sun away from low places where late spring frosts could damage blossoms.

Dig one hole for each blueberry bush you are planting. Each hole should be 5 or 6 feet apart in each row. Rows should be 10 or 12 feet apart. Dig the holes only as deep as the container the bushes came in and about twice as wide.

Put six or seven handfuls of peat moss into each hole. Put about a third of the soil removed while digging back into the hole. With your hand or a trowel, mix the peat moss evenly with dirt in the hole and line the hole with this mixture.

Loosen the plastic container around the blueberry bush root ball and remove it. If the plant was root bound, loosen overgrown roots from the soil but do not damage the roots.

Place the root ball into the center of the hole and pack the soil firmly around it. Add more loose soil as needed to fill the hole but do not pile it around the bottom of the bush. Be careful not to pack it too firmly in order to maintain aeration.

Spread several inches of mulch around the bottom of each bush. Water the plants thoroughly on planting day and twice a week thereafter for one year. Do not over water.

Prune the top third of each bush and remove any branches growing from the outside toward the center of the plant. For the first year, cut off any young berries as soon as they appear so that the plant will develop strong roots and branches. After year one, prune lower or weak branches once a year in the spring and prune excessively tall shoots after harvest.

Fertilize twice a year: once when spring growth appears and once after the harvest. Use cottonseed meal or a fertilizer formulated for azaleas. Do not use nitrate fertilizers.