Why blueberries do not bloom: grows poorly, does not bear fruit, what to do

Content

1 When blueberries begin to bear fruit after planting
2 Why garden blueberries do not bloom and bear fruit
3 Pests and diseases are another reason why garden blueberries grow poorly
4 Prevention measures
5 Conclusion

Blueberries do not bloom or bear fruit - a problem faced by gardeners who do not know the intricacies of plant care. The reasons for this are various, ranging from poor quality planting material or improperly selected place, and ending with inadequate care.

When blueberries begin to bear fruit after planting

Blueberries differ in terms of the onset of fruiting from most crops grown in central Russia. Do not expect fruit to appear in the second or even third year after planting. Not knowing this nuance, gardeners conclude that blueberries are not growing, although in reality the deadline has not yet come.

The first flowering of the bush begins 3-4 years after planting. During this period, the plant forms side shoots of replacement. The first inflorescences are formed on their tips in the next season. Ripening of berries lasts from mid-summer to the end of September for 5 years, after which the old branches are cut off.

The exact time of fruiting blueberries is difficult to determine unambiguously: it depends on the plant variety, the quality of the planting material and other parameters. This is roughly 3-7 years after planting.

Why garden blueberries do not bloom and bear fruit

There are several reasons:

poor quality planting material;
wrong landing site;
lack of drainage;
irrational watering or fertilization;
absence or incorrectly selected mulching material;
illiterate pruning of shoots;
diseases and pests;
lack of pollinators;
spring frosts.

Important! Even young bushes must form flower ovaries. Lack of flowering is a sure sign that the plant is not developing properly. If the cause is not identified, fruiting of blueberries will be impossible.

Poor quality planting material

There are often situations when it is pointless to cultivate blueberry seedlings. A bush grown from them will not bloom and will not yield a crop. Signs of poor quality planting material:

spots on leaf blades;
the presence of uncharacteristic burgundy areas on the bark;
open root system.

The first and second symptoms are characteristic of a seedling suffering from phomopsis or godronia. A plant sold with open roots will not take root in a new location. Blueberries should be kept in a container with acidic soil, otherwise they will not bloom and bear fruit for a long time.

The quality of the seedlings ordered online is problematic to visually determine. If, after inspection, defects were found, it is better to cut off the affected areas and try to grow blueberries.

Violation of the rules of landing and leaving

Even with a healthy and strong seedling, it is easy to damage the roots. They are thin, matted ramifications (hence their American name "angel hair"). The following procedures can help reduce the risk of damage:

Soak a pot of blueberry roots in water for 4 hours;
remove the plant from the planting container;
gently knead the earthen ball, starting from the central part.

There are also a number of rules regarding the placement of blueberries in the ground.

The bush is placed in the planting pit so that the roots are spread out and evenly distributed on all sides.
After that, the blueberries are sprinkled with the top layer of the substrate, watered, and, to reduce the evaporation of moisture and preserve the looseness of the soil, mulch.
The plant does not like cramped conditions, therefore, when planting bushes, you need to maintain a distance between them of at least 1 m.

If you neglect the planting rules, a defective root system will prevent the established blueberries from developing normally.

Incorrect landing site

Blueberries do not bear fruit or bloom if the planting site is mistakenly chosen.

A bush planted in a lowland does not grow well due to excess moisture and frequent frosts. With a large amount of water, roots die, and frosts damage young shoots, flowers, ovaries, and in autumn - berries.

Experienced gardeners do not recommend planting blueberries in shaded areas. It grows in the shade, but does not bear fruit. For the berries to appear, she needs good lighting.

Comment! The lack of sunlight negatively affects the taste of the berry. In the absence of a sufficient amount of them, blueberries can be sour.

Blueberries do not grow in places where plants that were treated with organic matter or that increase the acidity of the soil (potatoes and other vegetables) were placed before it. They should not be chosen as bush neighbors either. Blueberries also grow poorly if the pH is more than 5.5: the leaves turn yellow, the berries are small, the shoots are weak. The reason is that mycorrhiza on blueberry roots does not work on slightly acidic soil, which means that nitrogen is not absorbed.

You need a soil, the acidity of which is pH 4.5 - 5.5. The site is suitable if melons and gourds grew on it: zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkin. Blueberries are planted in the place where parsley, corn, rosemary or thyme grew.

Blueberries grow poorly in windy areas.

Lack of drainage

If there is no drainage, then an excess of water is formed. Stagnant water deprives the blueberry roots of air, they "suffocate", die off, and then the bush dies.

Therefore, in the presence of heavy soil or close to the surface of groundwater, a drainage system is needed. For this, a part of the earth is removed to a depth of 70 cm, which is carried along the contour of the landing hole. The resulting pit is filled with peat mixed with sand, pine needles and sawdust. The result should be a hill, on which the blueberries are placed, sprinkling the roots with earth on top.

Irregularities in watering schedule

Blueberries do not bloom or bear fruit with a lack or excess of moisture. Gardeners are often faced with the drying out of the soil coma in the central part of the plant. This can happen with the correct watering schedule if the roots were not spread out during planting.

Excessive hydration is also destructive. Optimal regimen: twice a week, 10 liters for each bush. The volume of water is divided into 2 equal parts: one is poured in the morning, and the second in the evening.

Violation of the feeding schedule

Blueberries have specific fertilizer requirements. Without regular feeding, it will not begin to bear fruit, but it does not tolerate organic matter:

bird droppings;
compost;
manure.

The optimal option for blueberries is mineral complexes like Solution or Fertika.

Lack or incorrectly selected mulching material

If there is no mulch layer, then moisture is not retained in the upper layer of the substrate, the roots are not protected from sudden temperature changes. This is bad for blueberry growth.

Also, the bush does not grow and does not bear fruit if clean sawdust is taken as mulch. They have 3 significant disadvantages:

when watering, they absorb a lot of moisture, which means more water is needed;
sawdust quickly shrink and, after drying, form a crust over which water flows down without reaching the roots;
blown away by the wind.

The most effective mulching material is a mixture of pine needles and sawdust.

Violation of the rules of pruning

The peculiarity of blueberries is that only those shoots that grew last year actively form berries. Inflorescences form at their tips. Therefore, if you shorten such branches, then next year you can not expect berries. Pruning is done only in extreme cases, when it is necessary to save the entire plant from a disease or pest.

In blueberries, only branches older than 5 years of age and dry branches are removed. If they are absent, it is better not to form a bush.

Lack of pollinators

Blueberries are a self-pollinated plant, but in order for the crop to bloom and bear fruit, it must be provided with a neighborhood with pollinators. The flowering period of these plants must be the same. Therefore, experts do not recommend planting blueberries in one bush. The best option is to place several seedlings at a distance of 1.5 meters from each other.

Spring frosts

Late spring frosts at night can destroy a potential crop. Temperatures are unstable during this time of the year and a severe cold snap can replace the heat of the day. If the frost picks up a bush that had time to bloom, there will be no harvest this year. It is impossible to rectify the situation, fruit ovaries will appear only next year.

Pests and diseases are another reason why garden blueberries grow poorly

The reason for the poor development of blueberries may lie in the infection of the bush with fungal diseases and bacterial infections.

The most dangerous diseases for berries:

anthracnose;
gray rot;
spotting (double, necrotic, red annular);
monocnosis;
mosaic;
stem cancer;
dwarfism;
filamentous shoots.

An effective means of combating them is fungicides (Kuprozan, Topsin-M, Benomil). Processing is carried out after harvesting 3 times at weekly intervals. With advanced forms, it is better to get rid of the plant in order to prevent the spread of infection throughout the garden area.

Pests can become the reason that blueberries do not bloom and bear fruit. The most dangerous:

gall midge;
shield;
kidney mite;
leaf roll.

Insecticides will protect the plant from them (Iskra, Karate, Mospilan, Aktellik and products of lesser-known manufacturers). The ideal time for processing is early spring, when the larvae leave their wintering places, and the bush itself has not yet bloomed.

Prevention measures

Knowing all the intricacies of caring for blueberries, you can achieve fruiting in a couple of years. To do this, you need to periodically check the condition of the bushes. The number of preventive measures should include:

regular fertilizing with minerals;
mulch renewal;
cutting off dead branches;
spring protective treatment of the plant with natural aseptics (onion var, soap solution, etc.);
tracking soil acidity and moisture;
sheltering the bush for the winter to protect against frostbite.

Periodic carrying out of the listed works will allow maintaining optimal conditions for growth and development for blueberries. The result will be a bountiful harvest.

Conclusion

Blueberries do not bloom or bear fruit for many reasons: the plant is demanding on growing conditions. To harvest a good harvest, you will have to maintain an optimal level of acidity, provide adequate lighting, moderate watering and a loose, nutritious soil.

Why blueberries do not bear fruit: causes and their elimination