How to grow blueberries

For the best results, choose a sunny and sheltered position. Blueberries will fruit in partial shade but will do best in a warm, sunny environment.

How to sow blueberry seeds

With skill and patience, blueberries can be grown from seeds extracted from fruit, but there’s no guarantee of success and it takes years to produce a small bush. For a more reliable method of propagating blueberries, take cuttings from young, non-flowering shoots – either softwood cuttings in spring, or semi-ripe cuttings in summer.

When and how to plant a blueberry bush

You can plant a blueberry bush at any time of year, except when the ground is frozen or wet. However, the best month to plant blueberry bushes is around October, when the soil is warm and moist. This gives the plants time to become established before winter, giving them a head start on the following year’s growth.

If planting blueberries in the ground, prepare the area first by removing weeds. Poor soils can be improved with low-pH organic matter such as leaf mould or pine bark – avoid using manure which may be alkaline and too heavy in texture. Space blueberries 1.5m apart for taller varieties and 75cm apart for shorter ones. Dig a hole that's a little larger than the plant's previous pot. Plant to the same depth as the top of the root ball, or to the soil ‘tide mark' at the base of the stem of a bare rooted plant. Water in generously.

If growing blueberries in pots, choose a container with a diameter of at least 30cm, and use a peat-free, ericaceous compost mixed with an equal volume of sharp sand or grit. Plant at the same depth the plant was growing in the field or in its previous pot. Firm in well and water in.

How to care for blueberries

Blueberry bush care is not demanding, although blueberries in pots need regular watering. Blueberries growing in the ground should be watered during dry spells for the first couple of years until established. Use rainwater to water blueberries whenever possible, because tap water contains lime and this can make the soil more alkaline over time. A spring mulch of pine tree needles, leaf mould or bark chippings is a good way to maintain soil acidity, while helping to retain moisture in the soil or compost.

Feed pot-grown blueberries weekly during the growing season with a liquid feed designed for acid-loving plants. If necessary, repot into a slightly larger pot in spring. In subsequent springs, remove the top layer of compost and replace with fresh compost – a process known as top dressing.

Blueberries are hardy down to around -12֯C for short periods but blueberry bushes in pots are more vulnerable as the whole plant is above ground. Insulate pots by wrapping them in an insulating material such as thick fleece, hessian, bubble polythene or straw.

Keep an eye out for chlorosis, which appears as yellowing leaves. This is due to a change in the pH of the soil and will kill your blueberries if you don't act quickly. Be vigilant if growing blueberries in a pot. It's worth checking the pH of the soil annually to monitor conditions. To remedy the problem, repot with fresh ericaceous compost, water with rainwater and add a liquid fertiliser for ericaceous plants.

How to prune blueberries

For the first two years, remove only crossing, rubbing or damaged branches so the bush develops a balanced framework. During that time, take off any fruit buds so the plant puts its energy into growing.

Thereafter, blueberry bushes benefit from regular pruning to keep them healthy and productive. Prune while the plants are still dormant in late winter, aiming to keep the younger, more productive branches that are two or three years old – they should be reddish brown, with lots of fat fruit buds on them. Firstly, tidy the plant by removing any dead, diseased or crossing branches. Then cut out around a quarter of the less productive, older branches, which are thicker and pale grey in colour. Remove any horizontal branches close to the ground and any spindly tips of branches to keep the plant more compact.

Pests and diseases

Blueberries don't generally suffer from many pests and diseases. Powdery mildew may appear if conditions are too dry or too wet. This shouldn’t affect the plant too much, but remove affected leaves and stems and burn them, to kill the fungus and prevent its spread the following year.

Vine weevil can be a problem for container-grown blueberries. The adults eat notches in the leaves but rarely cause significant damage, but the grubs eat the roots of the plant and can do a lot of harm if present in large numbers. You can dig around the roots to remove the grubs by hand or use nematodes, which naturally destroy the grubs. Avoid using pesticides as these are systemic, meaning they’re taken up by the plant’s roots and will therefore be present in the flowers that are pollinated by bees, and the fruit you eat.

Aphids can cluster on new young shoots but are rarely a problem so are best left for natural predators like ladybirds and hoverflies to deal with.

How to harvest blueberries

Blueberries are ready to harvest from midsummer. They ripen gradually so check back every few days and remove the ripe ones. Gently pick off the deepest blue berries, leaving the greener ones to continue ripening. It will take several years for your plant to crop heavily.

Storing blueberries

Blueberries are best eaten freshly picked, but freeze very well. Frozen blueberries work well when baking or when used in smoothies, jams or compotes.

Blueberry varieties to try

'Earliblue' – an early ripening variety, producing a good crop of large, light blue sweet berries, plus good autumn colour. H x S: 1.8m x 1.8m

• Buy blueberry 'Earliblue' from Thompson & Morgan

‘Brigitta’ – with large fruits that ripen later in the season, at the end of August. It needs to be grown with other blueberry varieties, as it needs cross-pollination for a good crop. H x S: 1.8m x 1.8m

• Buy blueberry 'Brigitta' from Thompson & Morgan

'Bluecrop' – produces masses of fruits in August. It's self-fertile, but for best results grow with a pollination partner. H x S: 1.2m x 90cm

• Buy blueberry 'Bluecrop' from Thompson & Morgan

‘Spartan’ RHS AGM – an early- to mid-season cropper, with large, sweet fruits. H x S: 2m x 1.5m

• Buy blueberry 'Spartan' from Dobies

‘Duke’ RHS AGM – a very popular variety, that produces good yields of medium to large fruit. It flowers later but fruits early, so it is good for areas with a shorter summer season. H x S: 1.5m x 1.5m

• Buy blueberry 'Duke' from Crocus

‘Pink Sapphire’ – a new variety with pink-white, bell shaped flowers in spring and fruit that ripens to a deep pink. With bright orange leaves in autumn, that fade to deep red, it offers a lot of ornamental interest too. H x S: 1.5m x 1.5m

• Buy blueberry 'Pink Sapphire' from Dobies

Frequently asked questions

Are blueberry bushes better in pots or in the ground?

Blueberries grow well either in the ground or in pots, as long as the soil type and conditions suit them. Check your garden soil pH using a test kit to make sure it is sufficiently acid for blueberries. If so, it’s less work to grow blueberries in the ground as plants growing in pots will require regular watering.

Can you grow blueberries from fruit?

Determined gardeners may like to have a go at growing blueberries from seeds extracted from within the berries, but it's a long process with low chance of success. Buying a blueberry bush will give you a plant that crops in a much shorter time.