How to Pot Blueberries

Blueberry plants thrive in containers when you grow the right bush in the right climate in the right soil. Dwarf blueberry shrubs that reach no taller than 5 feet, such as Bluegold, Sunshine Blue and O'Neal, are ideal. Since pots provide the roots less insulation from the cold than the ground, select a variety hardy to one U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zone lower than yours. After you find the most suitable bush, prepare an acidic soil mix with a pH between 4.5 and 5.0.

Planter with drainage holes
Sphagnum peat moss
Shredded pine bark
12-4-8 fertilizer with 2 percent magnesium
Sawdust mulch

Instructions

- 1
  Select a 2- to 5-gallon planter for blueberry bushes between 4 inches and 1 gallon. Plant larger shrubs in 16- to 20-gallon pots.
- 2
  Blend one part sphagnum peat moss with one part shredded pine bark to make an acidic soilless potting mix.
- 3
  Add some potting mix to the planter and pack it down. Place the shrub in so the root crown is level with the surface after you finish filling the pot to ¼ inch from the rim. Press the soil surface to get rid of air pockets.
- 4
  Water the blueberry bush at planting until excess flows out of the drainage holes.
- 5
  Feed the plant 1 oz. 12-4-8 fertilizer with 2 percent magnesium after you finish potting it.
- 6
  Cover the soil surface with 1 inch sawdust mulch to slow evaporation.

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