Blueberry tree: cultivation, photo

Bilberry is a common berry crop that grows in Northern and Eastern Europe, taiga and tundra regions of Asia, and North America. In the wild, this is a low-growing shrub, some species of which do not exceed 10-15 cm. Many gardeners, not wanting to go to the forest for berries every summer, try to equip their own blueberry in their garden plot. In most cases, the transfer of a forest plant to artificial conditions ends in failure. Blueberries are accepted, but no fruit. When planting specimens purchased in specialized stores, consumers note that they have little in common with wild berries. Garden Blueberry or Bilberry Tree is a hybrid species designed for outdoor cultivation.

Photo of garden blueberry:

Description of garden blueberry

Garden blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is one of the variants of the name Blueberry, bred selectively in North America. Several dozen varieties are used to harvest large, beautiful berries and in landscape design.

The blueberry tree is a vigorous, spreading deciduous shrub, its height depends on the climate and conditions, ranges from 1 to 3 m, the crown diameter is on average 2 m. The root system of blueberries is fibrous, densely branched. Stems of garden blueberry are straight, strong, lengthen every year due to young growth. Shoots are medium or thin, slightly ribbed, green or greenish-red, not pubescent, shiny. The growth buds of the blueberry tree are small, oblong, pointed, located throughout the shoot and in the leaf axils. The flower buds of a blueberry tree are light green, spherical, formed on new shoots - 1 apical and 2-3 lateral ones, bloom in May. Garden blueberry leaves are medium in size, green, oval, smooth, shiny, even or finely serrated at the edges. They turn red in autumn, fall off by winter.

White or pale pink, pitcher-shaped flowers are collected in racemose drooping inflorescences. Corolla with 5-toothed joint-petals. Blueberries are round or slightly flattened, up to 2.5 cm in diameter and weighing 1.4-1.9 g, sweet, aromatic. The color varies from blue to almost black, the skin of medium thickness is covered with a bluish bloom, the flesh is light, dense. The fruiting times of the blueberry tree differ depending on the variety, the average yield is 3-5 kg ​​per bush.

Blueberry varieties

The selection of garden blueberries occurs continuously, new varieties appear with different ripening periods, increased productivity and resistance to unfavorable climatic conditions. According to the degree of growth, they are divided into high and semi-high, according to the ripening time - into early, medium and late.

In the Central Siberian Botanical Garden, semi-high varieties of garden blueberries were bred, which do not differ in high productivity, but are resistant to major diseases and can withstand frosts down to - 43 ˚С. Universal varieties of blueberry trees recommended for cultivation throughout Russia: Blue placer, Divnaya, Shegarskaya, Taiga beauty, Nectarnaya, Iksinskaya, Graceful.

Recently, some gardeners have taken a great interest in growing a plant called Blueberry forte (or Sunberry). Probably, this was facilitated by the advertising campaign of the drug of the same name for eye health. In fact, the shrub has no, even the most distant, relation to blueberries - it is an annual of the Solanaceae family. Growing conditions for Blueberry forte are fundamentally different from those that are created for garden varieties, since it is a completely different species.

Features of growing blueberries in the garden

The blueberry tree is very demanding on climatic conditions; summer must be warm for successful fruiting and ripening of shoots. Most varieties have high frost resistance, but in the absence of snow cover, the plants can freeze slightly. Spring return frosts up to - 1 ° C do not harm garden blueberries. The shrub begins to bloom in May, ripen in July-October, depending on the variety. The fruiting period of garden blueberries stretches for 1-1.5 months, which makes it possible to pick fresh berries for a long time. Cross-pollination increases the volume and quality of the crop; several specimens should be planted in the same area with the same flowering period. With proper care, a blueberry tree can live for 40-50 years.

Planting and caring for garden blueberries

For the successful cultivation of garden blueberries in the country, a number of rules should be observed that provide them with favorable conditions for rooting, development, fruiting and wintering.

Selection and preparation of the landing site

For planting a blueberry tree, you should choose a sunny area, preferably not on the south side. It should be well protected from the winds, cold air should not stagnate in it. Garden blueberry grows well on light, moist, well-drained nutrient soils with water deposition at a level of 40-60 cm from the surface. Sandstones and loams with a pH of 4.5 5.2 are preferred. For planting a blueberry tree, the garden plot should be prepared a year earlier - to stabilize and enrich the soil.

Heavy soils must be loosened by introducing sawdust, river sand, ground bark or plant humus. Favorable sowing in the garden area of ​​green manure, followed by incorporation into the soil.

Preparation of planting material

The purchase of high-quality healthy seedlings is an important condition in the cultivation of bush blueberries. Particular attention should be paid to the condition of the roots. The open root system of garden blueberries requires special conditions for transportation and temporary storage, in particular, timely sufficient moisture. No one can guarantee the health and quality of such seedlings. Preference should be given to biennial blueberry trees grown and sold in special containers. If you choose 5-6-year-old plants, it will be a more expensive and "early ripening" option - after the spring planting in the summer you can harvest the first harvest of garden blueberries.

How to plant blueberries

Garden blueberries are planted in spring (April) or autumn (early September). In the first case, the risk of damage to the plant by rodents and freezing in the event of a harsh winter is excluded. In the second, they will have time to take root well before the cold weather; during this period, blueberry seedlings are less susceptible to attacks by pests and diseases. In the southern regions and temperate latitudes, it is better to plant a blueberry tree in the fall, in the northern regions - in the spring.

Planting pits for garden blueberries with dimensions of 1x0.6 m are prepared in advance, 15-30 days in advance, the distance between them should be at least 2 m. Drainage from small stones or broken bricks is laid out on the bottom. Sour peat, rotted pine litter, 1 tbsp. Are added to the soil removed from the pit. l. complete mineral fertilizer. 15 minutes before planting the blueberry tree, the roots should be soaked in warm water; there is no need to remove a clod of earth from the roots. After placing the blueberry plant in the hole, water it abundantly and cover the roots with soil.

Watering and feeding

Garden blueberries need regular watering, while they do not tolerate stagnation of moisture in the roots or drought. The topsoil should always be damp - to maintain a favorable moisture level, it is recommended to mulch the near-trunk zone. The blueberry tree is fed three times a season with complex mineral fertilizers (1 tbsp. L. Per m2²) or special preparations "Fertika Universal", "Fertika Lux", "Solution", "Aciplex", "FLORTISGOLD". To maintain the optimum level of soil acidity, once a month, it is recommended to water garden blueberries with a solution of citric acid (1 tsp / 10 l of water). All top dressing is applied to the trunk circle, to the mulch.

Pruning

Young bushes of garden blueberries are not pruned for 3-4 years. Subsequently, it grows with thickening shoots. If the blueberry branches don't get enough light, the berries will be small and sour. To avoid this, the blueberry tree is pruned. It is of 3 types:

• Sanitary - diseased, dry and damaged shoots are removed, carried out in spring and autumn.
• Formative - it is used on blueberry bushes from 4 years old, its purpose is crown thinning.
• Rejuvenating - branches older than 6 years are cut from a 10-year-old plant.

Even in favorable conditions, in the absence of timely pruning, blueberries in the garden area will not bear fruit well, a small number of small berries will be tied on a bush overloaded with branches. It is optimal if the bush has 5-8 strong branches growing from rhizomes or stumps located near the ground after rejuvenating pruning. Every year, the crown of a blueberry tree needs to be thinned by a third, root shoots should be removed, annual shoots should be shortened to 1-2 buds. After the event, garden blueberries need to be fed with ammonium sulfate and mulch the soil with sour peat.

Preparing for winter

Despite the fact that most varieties of garden blueberries tolerate frosts up to - 35 ˚С, they need to be insulated for the winter. If the winter is harsh and snowless, the plants may freeze up to the point of death. The first thing to do before the onset of cold weather is to water the blueberry tree for the winter, 4-6 buckets of water for each plant. Then it is necessary to carefully cover the roots by sprinkling a thick layer (20 cm) of earth or mulch in the trunk circle. Tall blueberry bushes are bent and pinned to the ground, it is not necessary to do this with undersized ones.

It is necessary to cover garden blueberries with the onset of the first frosts - with spruce branches, agrofibre or spunbond.Subsequently, it will be necessary to throw snow on this shelter, this structure will create reliable protection from frost.

How to grow a blueberry tree from seeds

Garden blueberry fruits contain a large number of seeds - this prompts many to try to grow a seedling on their own. There is nothing complicated in the process, you only need time and patience. Seeds are taken from fully ripe, healthy large fruits. After kneading the pulp of blueberries into a gruel, the seeds are separated and immersed in water. Those that surfaced are discarded, those that remain at the bottom are immediately sown (in August) or dried and stored in a paper bag until April-May. In the latter case, they need to be stratified within 3 months (starting in January). Blueberry seedlings are grown in special containers.

Blueberry seeds are scattered on the surface of the nutrient substrate and covered with a 3 mm layer of sand. The container is covered with glass or foil and placed in a warm, bright place. Crops of garden blueberries periodically need to be watered and ventilated. After 4 weeks, the first shoots will appear. After the formation of a pair of true leaves, the sprouts are transferred to separate containers for growing. During this period, blueberries need to be watered abundantly and mineral fertilizers applied. With the onset of stable warm weather, the blueberry tree seedlings are transferred to a “school” ̶ temporary area, where they will stay for 2 years. Only then can they be moved to a permanent place. Growing a blueberry tree at home from seeds is a long process aimed at breeding and selecting the most powerful and promising specimens.

Blueberry propagation

In addition to the seed method, garden blueberries also propagate vegetatively. To obtain new seedlings, separate parts of the plants are used:

• Cuttings - in February-March, planting material 20-25 cm long is cut from well-ripened and lignified annual shoots with a thickness of 2 cm.
• Young shoots - at the end of June, young shoots are plucked from the stem, the lower leaves are removed.
• Layers - from April to September, the lower branches of the blueberry bush are pinned to the ground and sprinkled with sawdust and fertile soil. After rooting, the branch is separated from the mother plant and transplanted into the "school".

Propagation of a blueberry tree by layering is the least popular method, the branches take root for a long time (2-3 years), allowing you to get a small number of new plants.

Diseases and pests

Garden blueberries are highly resistant to diseases and are poorly attacked by pests. Under unfavorable conditions and insufficient nutrition, the plant's immunity decreases, it becomes susceptible to fungal and viral infections - stem cancer, rot, phomopsis, red leaf spot, berry mummification, mosaic. Since such diseases spread very quickly through the blueberry tree, you need to act after the first symptoms appear:

• leaves become covered with spots, curl, fall off;
• bark, branches, inflorescences dry out;
• berries, shoots stop developing and die off.

Affected plant parts are removed and burned. The blueberry tree is treated with Topsin, Euparen, Fundazol. To prevent fungal diseases, the root zone is sprayed with Bordeaux liquid twice a year. Before flowering and after picking berries, it is recommended to treat the bushes of garden blueberries with the preparations "Skor", "Tersel", "Tridex", "Fufanon".

Pests attack the blueberry tree to a lesser extent and do little harm. Sometimes it is enough just to pick them up by hand. Most often, on a bush of garden blueberries, you can find caterpillars, aphids, flower beetles, leaf rollers, kidney mites, and beetles.If the mechanical method of fighting is ineffective, it is worth resorting to popular insecticides: Fitoverm, Aktara, Dendrobacillin, Bitoxibacillin.

They damage the harvest of blueberry trees and poultry; for protection, the bushes need to be covered with a fine mesh.

Conclusion

Garden blueberry is a plant that is just beginning to gain popularity among Russian gardeners. Planting and caring for him does not require much trouble and does not involve any difficulties. New varieties appear regularly, intended for industrial cultivation. By creating favorable conditions and observing the rules of care, a stable harvest of beautiful, large, tasty and healthy berries can be obtained annually from the blueberry tree.

Reviews of gardeners about garden blueberries

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