North Coast Gardening

Planting Bare-Root Blueberries

***Sunshine Blue Dwarf Blueberry Giveaway Below!*** EDIT: Darlene is the lucky winner – we’ve sent you an email, Darlene. Congrats!

I’m a huge fan of blueberries in the landscape, because of all the fruits and vegetables, I think they have the best year-round interest in the garden. In spring, you get the masses of white-pink bell-shaped flowers so similar to that of my native huckleberries, salal, and manzanita. In summer, the plump, almost metallic blue berries are lovely; and the fall color is a rich series of oranges, reds and purples. Their stems are even attractive enough to provide winter interest.

They’re also remarkably low-maintenance. You plant them, provide them mulchy, acidic soil rich in organic matter (cottonseed meal and compost!), and then get them established with deep watering in summer. Once they’re mature size, they need little supplemental care to produce big crops with ease. I’ve never seen a blueberry with a pest or disease issue, beyond that of birds or deer getting to the fruit before the people do!

So when Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply asked me if I’d like to hold a giveaway for my favorite variety of blueberry, Sunshine Blue, I was so excited! Sunshine Blue reaches about 3′ tall and wide; it’s self-fruitful, which means it doesn’t require that you have a second blueberry variety in order to get berries; and it holds its beautiful foliage in winter, which makes it a truly year-round shrub. It even performs well in containers:

If you’d like to win some Sunshine Blue blueberries of your own, leave a comment, and I’ll choose one lucky winner to win a whopping THREE Sunshine Blue blueberries to plant! I’ll select the winner randomly on April 18th. They can ship anywhere in the US, except Hawaii.

If you’re too impatient to wait to see if you’ve won, head on over to www.groworganic.com, Peaceful Valley’s website, and check out their selection of inexpensive bare root blueberries and other plants. And definitely check them out on Facebook and Twitter to stay up on all their sales and doings!

What are you waiting for? Leave a comment for your chance to win! EDIT: Contest now closed. Congratulations to Darlene!

Genevieve

65 responses to “Planting Bare-Root Blueberries”

  1. I so miss the local blueberry farm. The owner retired, passed it on and now it is no more. Such a terrible loss. Maybe my own few plants would help a little.

  4. Container blueberries…. perfect! Blueberries are so easy to grow and so healthy to eat!

  5. We are addicted to blueberries and have finally started a blueberry orchard this year. The orchard currently looks like a bunch of happy sticks sticking out of the ground and we are very much looking forward to them thriving and producing yummy blueberries for our family, friends and even my massage and yoga peeps. Hopefully we can add more to the garden. 🙂

  6. I would like to try growing blueberries ~ I live in So CA. I’ll have to test the soil and adjust the pH in the spot where I’d plant them in case I win. 😉

    Do bareroot bear fruit the first year or is it best to nip buds and have fruit the second year?

  7. Oooo, a new variety of blueberries! I’d LOVE to add them to the mix we have here in our garden. This year, though, my goal is to actually GET some of the blueberries before the robins and waxwings get them all. I don’t mind sharing, but they apparently don’t feel the same compunction.

  8. I’ve been following “garden darlings” for the past year and blueberries and potatoes are on the top of the list. I have seed potatoes in the garage (have to plant this week) and have been wanting to add blueberry plants in my garden as well. Good luck with your planting. And you are so correct about good deep watering the first season.

  9. Originally from Maine and now in Southern, CA, we definitely daydream about picking wild blueberries and spotting the occasional moose traipsing through the field! With two girls, 5 and 8, and a small backyard, we’re overdue – bound and determined to live off the land and get back to nature. For fun, we just planted loofah seeds so we can make our own sponges. The kids eat swiss chard like lolly pops and I shake my head and say, wow, that was easy. Just plant stuff and the kids will give it a shot. On our list of favorite books of all time is Blueberries for Sal, written by Robert McCloskey.

  10. I’ve had such mixed luck with blueberries. Two years ago I planted two different varieties, and got lots of berries from both. The next year, one grew HUGE (some branches as tall as our house!) and one stayed about the same size, but only the small one produced berries. I’m not sure if I should have pruned the giant one…I hate to cut a good plant down, but I told it that if it doesn’t produce berries this year it’s out of there!

  11. Blueberries are my absolute favorite fruit! I tried growing 2 a few years ago but they didn’t make it. I’m not sure if it was a sun issue (I planted them on the east side of a pine tree thinking the needles would help make an acidic soil) or if maybe they weren’t put deep enough.

    Maybe I should try a dwarf in a pot and see what happens. 🙂

  14. I would love blueberries. Except they just don’t grow here. (Unless you are crazy and invest in a sulfur emulsifier for the water and put tons (literally) of elemental sulfur on the ground , etc. ) Stupid high pH–calcium carbonate loaded soil.

  16. Me please! My boys could easily consume the family grocery budget in blueberries along.

  17. Yum! I’ve been hearing blueberries are so good for your health. I was thinking about getting some, but I can’t bring myself to spend now and then wait two year… oh… such a long wait. I think if you send them for free, the wait will be so much bearable!

  18. My husband and I do have a small but “berry” prolific blueberry patch out behind our barn. I love the fact that when the bush is bursting I can go out there with my cereal in my bowl – put on a few of our fresh organic blueberries — and eat it while i look out over the field. I’m always looking to add another variety – bush to the patch.

  19. Enter me, please!! I have two Top Hat and one Chandler, all planted last year in our new garden. I know I’m supposed to pick off the flowers this year to let the plant build strength and fruit next year, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have the willpower for that. I CANNOT WAIT for our first blueberry crop.

  20. I would love to win these! They would go perfect in my new landscaping project in the our backyard.
    I am having a giveaway too……stop by and check it out!

  21. Sunshine Blue blueberries would make a wonderful addition to the standard SC fare we have planted in our first attempt at a forest garden space in our front yard. We’d like to incorporate some permaculture into our backyard by planting a some fruit trees and bushes on the sunny side of our chicken coop. That way, the hens can put their poop to work and fertilize the trees while the Sunshine Blue (and other) fruit crops shade them from the sun – which can be treacherous at times. We can already tell its gonna be a scorching hot summer!

  23. My kids (ages 2, 5, 10 and 14) and I pick blueberries every year and we LOVE making preserves, adding them to our fresh spinach smoothies, and eating them frozen. Such a tasty fruit!!

  24. My wife and “Elder” son LOVE blueberries! And I know they grow here! They threaten to weigh my son on the way in and out of the Blueberry Farm!

  26. Hi Gen,

    This giveaway is too cool! Because not only will you win 3 beautiful plants to enjoy in
    your garden but they will eventually give you something “yummy for your tummy!”
    and are good for you too!! 😉 But if you wanted to….. instead of making 1 person happy
    you could …. make *3* people happy!! Hey wait a minute that was your last giveaway!
    See, I need this blueberry bush to help me with my short term memory loss syndrome!
    And they also make a great “boo-berry” martini!! I’ll keep the glasses chilled & my fingers crossed 😉

  28. Ah, container blueberries! I have been attempting to nurture a few scraggly blueberries out in our yard for a few years now by keeping them thickly mulched with composted pine needles, and while they haven’t died (yet) they would definitely be more suited to life somewhere with more acidic soil! Too bad they’re large varieties that wouldn’t work in a container like your wonderful bareroot stock would 🙂

  29. I need Blueberrys. Love North Coast Gardening, which I found after attending the SF Garden show this year. Thank You.

  30. I picked blueberries out on 299 my first yea here and fell in love with them. I could fall in love right in my own back yard with these bushes!

  31. For some strange reason, I’ve yet to plant any blueberries in my landscape – these would give me a kick start!

  32. Oh they are beautiful and I’d love to grow blueberries, but it so hard with our alkaline soils. So don’t enter me in the giveaway but YUM…….

  33. I just planted one blueberry bush, but it looks a little lonely. Any suggestions for acidifying the soil around it without killing everything planted nearby?

  35. My son loves blueberries but we only buy them occasionally due to the cost. What a treat it would be to have them available for FREE in the backyard!

  36. Blueberries are delicious, and so good for you. Low maintenance in the garden makes them even better!

  37. Thank you and what a generous offer. Blueberries are a great fruit and a plant more people should consider for their landscapes.

  38. I’m a relatively new gardener and have never attempted growing any kind of fruit. I love to make blueberry pancakes and muffins, and it would be amazing to get them from my own yard as needed!

  39. I just planted blackberry bushes. Wouldn’t a blueberry bush be a great addition? Especially a self-fruitful one?

  40. I adopted a lonely blueberry bush last year from freecycle before it got trashed. It wasn’t in great shape, but has steadily improved and this spring it looks so healthy! I can’t wait for it to flower and produce. Thanks!

  41. Thank you for your tip. This is really a must in my future garden. The green will be just great in winter. The Spring Flowers will feed bees, wild bees, butterflies etc. Many birds and other animals , including me, will be delighted when the fruit is ripe. Anothr special plant for my garden. xxx

  42. We are renters with a gardening landlord next door. He has encouraged our gardening and blueberries would be the perfect addition especially ones that can grow in large pots!Thanks for this opportunity!
    Deanna

  43. mmmm BLUEBERRIES!!!!!! Recently moved back to a house we lived in 1o yrs ago that’s on a hillside. During that time the blackberries took over the hill.Planning to re-tame it this year.Had bought a top hat but it didn’t make the 1st winter. Someone told me I should try another variety.My plan is to try & grow as much of my own food as possible to cut cost’s! Yea things are tough all over! Heard that this variety is pretty hardy! Would love to give it a try! Thanks for the chance! =)

  47. My grandparents had raspberries here when I was a kid – do blueberries generally do well in raspberry conditions?

  49. My aunt had blueberries in her backyard when I was young. Fresh blueberries are such a treet. I would love to have a “patch” in my yard. Great contest!

  51. I’m adding more areas in the yard this weekend for fruits and vegetables so will be already for the three dwarf blueberries! I’ve been wanting to try growing some for quite awhile.

  53. I miss the pick-ur-own farms in the north east and would love to pick my own here in Humboldt County, Ca.

  54. Growing up, we used to pick mountains of blueberries over at some abandoned land…we’d pick enough to freeze and eat all year long! I’d love to add some blueberries to the yard.

  55. Blueberries would make a great addition to our garden, and I think would do great in our acidic Oregon Coast soil.

  56. I have a new sunny spot as the result of a neighbor taking out a tree — would love to add some pretty little blueberry plants in that area!

  60. Hi – I planted blueberries late last Spring. I tried to take cuttings to root over the winter. The cuttings I worked with didn’t make it. The ones I left in a bucket with some water are sprouting! So – I may have success anyway! thanks for this contest!

  61. I just realized blueberries are supposed to be able to be grown in florida. I am a major fan of if I am going to plant something I want to be able to eat it (why waste water) all the while it also looks pretty. I have banana plants- they always look so tropical-edible flowers- just as beautiful as all the others- and many other edible varieties of stuff. Trying to find good plants though is really hard here. Most people (and stores) don’t seem to really care about quality- only quantity. If your blueberry plants will survive here I will certainly try them. Has anyone else had luck with blueberries here in central florida close to the coast?

  62. We love our berries. We have a small raspberry patch and we’d love to grow blueberries!

  63. This is one contest that will keep on giving. Very Cool. Blueberries – yum! Please consider me entered in your contest. What a fun contest; what a fun blog!