My Blueberry Bushes Are Dying

Season

• Blueberries produce new growth, flowers and fruit through spring and into fall. In fall, deciduous cultivars turn orange, red and yellow, and then use lose their leaves. This loss signifies dormancy rather than death; the bushes produce new growth in spring, around last frost.

Site and Space

• Blueberries produce their best growth and fruit harvests in full sun, with six to eight hours of exposure every day. North Carolina State University notes that the bushes tolerate shade for up to four hours every day. Deep shade or all-day shade produces yellow, dying leaves. Blueberries also require at least 3 to 4 feet of space to grow, and suffer in crowded plantings. The bushes fail in standing water or still air.

Soil and Nutrition

• Blueberries have specific soil requirements and fail in alkaline, poor or tight soil. Amend soil with organic compost and peat moss at planting to give blueberries their ideal pH of 4.5 to 5.5. Give blueberries fresh compost every spring, or when you see them failing, to provide better soil quality.

  Feed blueberries in spring and summer to maintain health, but use care; North Carolina State University notes that blueberries fail with excess fertilizer. Mix 1 tbsp. of 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 granular fertilizer into the soil around each bush after planting, and every six weeks thereafter during the first summer. Increase applications to 2 tabsp. per feeding in the second year, and 1 cup of fertilizer per application in every year thereafter. Maintain the first year's feeding calendar, and keep granular fertilizer off foliage and trunk. Use 1/4 cup of ammonium nitrate at every feeding to encourage better vegetative growth.

Water and Mulch

• Blueberries fail with dry soil, and lose their leaves after long periods of drought. Give each bush 1 to 2 inches of water a week to maintain healthy growth. Mulch the blueberries with acidic materials like sawdust, wood chips, bark and pine needles to protect the soil from drying. As these materials break down, they add nutritients to the soil to maintain the bushes.