Although they are native to the eastern United States, it is possible to successfully grow blueberries here in the southwest. When selecting blueberries to grow at your place, look for Southern Highbush varieties that are suited for our warm, wet coastal winters, and have a low chill hour requirement. Also, by selecting two different, yet compatible varieties of blueberry, you will increase the quality of your pollination.
Blueberries are deciduous bushes that can grow up to 6’ tall, and be equally as wide. Plant in a sunny, well-draining location, that has a moist, cool soil, that ranges towards the acidic side. When you are ready to plant your blueberry, dig a hole 18” deep by 18” wide. Into the bottom of this hole, add 2 heaping handfuls of compost and cup each of landscape mix, cottonseed meal, worm castings and azomite. Mix these ingredients around with some of the excavated soil, and then place the root ball of the plant down into the hole. Fill in the hole with the remaining soil, stopping to incorporate an additional cup of compost, landscape mix, cottonseed meal and worm castings with every 5 inches of soil. Once in the ground, keep a 3-4” layer of mulch under the drip-line of the plant. For the first year in the ground, you will want to encourage foliar plant development and not let the plant expend any of its energy on fruit production. As hard as it will be to do, you need to remove all of the flowers before they set fruit. This difficult task will set the stage for increased fruit production in the future. Blueberries can flower profusely, and as a result can set more fruit than they can successfully grow out to maturity. To counter this, we advise trimming the branch tips back several inches, to the point on the branches where the fruits become evenly spaced. Keep the plant well-watered during the period that it is producing fruit.
We are currently selling the following varieties:
Biloxi– Southern high-bush variety. This blueberry has a bushy growth habit, excellent vigor, and is especially suited for our coastal climate. Chill hour requirements are very low, 0-150 hours.Medium-sized berries are high quality and have a distinctive flavor. When mature the plant will be 5’ tall and 3’ wide. While Biloxi has been grown successfully in a wide range of soil conditions, good drainage is always important Main crop will ripen mid-season.
Misty– Southern high-bush variety. ‘Misty’ blueberry plants are not only grown for their sweet, firm berries, but also for their attractive blue-green foliage and pink-to-white flowers.This is a great pollinator for other blueberry varieties due to its long bloom period. Four to six feet tall at maturity; fast growing and reliable. Early-mid season ripening dates. Large fruit size and high yields make for a fine backyard blueberry. 300 chill hours.
Pink Lemonade- Another Southern high-bush variety that produces moderately well in our coastal climate. These mid-season flowering plants produce glossy, bright pink berries that are of medium size and have a sweet blueberry flavor. While pink lemonade is self-pollinating, you will have increased yields if you plant more than one, or even another variety in your garden as a companion. The plants will be 4-5’ tall and 3-4’ wide when mature. 300 chill hours.
Sunshine Blue– Southern high-bush variety. A short statured blueberry, 3×4 feet tall by 3×4 feet wide, that does well in small spaces and even thrives in containers. Sunshine seems to be more tolerant of high pH soils, so this is a good variety for our area. Self-pollinating, but yields better when planted with another variety. Medium sized fruits ripen in June through early-July. A nice ornamental blueberry. 0-150 chill hours.