Carol Bradford: Blueberry bushes good for landscaping, but need acid soil

BLUEBERRIES ARE native to Northeastern America. The white flowers are pollinated by native bees and the berries ripen in August. Blueberries need acid soil. If mountain laurel, heather, heath, azaleas and rhododendrons grow well, so will blueberries. Amending the soil can be done, but it's a job that never ends. Courtesy Carol T. Bradford
Dear Carol: We are doing some landscaping this spring. We want to plant blueberries.

Do they need sun or shade? Do we need two together? How far apart should they be, and if near the fence, how far from the fence should they be to allow growing space? Do deer eat them? We can put either inside or outside of the fence. We may want to plant next week if this is a suitable time of year. -- B.G., via email.

Dear B.G.: Blueberry bushes are attractive and make good plants for landscaping. The small bell-shaped white flowers are followed by berries, and the leaves turn red in the fall.

Lowbush blueberries grow wild in Maine and Canada in barrens, where the soil is sandy, peaty and poor in nutrients. Wild blueberries are the species Vaccinium angustifolium. The berries are small, but are considered more flavorful than typical commercially available blueberries. Wild blueberries are harvested and preserved by canning or freezing.

My impression of the process comes from the children's book, "Blueberries for Sal," but it's actually big business in Quebec. The managed wild blueberry bushes vary considerably in size and other characteristics, but are low growing and spread slowly by rhizomes.

Highbush blueberries are the ones found in the grocery store. There are many varieties, hybrids of the speciesV. corymbosum. The plants are sold by nurseries in the spring. The bushes grow to around 5 feet tall by 5 feet wide and are generally planted about 5 feet apart. If there is more than one row, the rows should be about 10 to 12 feet apart so access is easy.

Deer (and bears) will eat blueberries. Planting the bushes inside the fence is definitely the way to go. The bushes should probably be 10 feet away from the fence, so that it's easier to pick the berries. The berries will also have to be protected from birds. Netting is sold at garden centers and by mail.

Almost all fruit trees and bushes do best in full sun. Plenty of energy is needed to ripen the fruit.

The bushes will be more productive if two or more different varieties are planted that can cross-pollinate each other. There are early, midseason and late-season blueberries to choose from. Being native plants, the blueberry flowers are visited by an assortment of bumblebees and other native nonsocial bees.

Blueberry bushes need acid soil with a pH below 4.8. Most Central New York soils are limestone based and alkaline, with a pH higher than 7.0. If the garden soil is not naturally acid, the soil will have to be amended with elemental sulfur to lower the pH. Have the soil tested before wasting money on blueberry plants. Sulfur works slowly, so planting next spring might be reasonable. The low pH will be maintained by annual applications of ammonium sulfate.


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