So you’ve decided to buy blueberry bush. Congratulations! Blueberries are a staple berry in the United States, and despite common misconception, they are easy to grow. When you start looking for blueberry plants, it can be intimidating trying to figure out which variety is right for you. This guide will help you decide.
When picking a blueberry variety, there are a few main things to consider:
Chill Hours & Zone
Berry Specifics
Fruiting Time
Blueberries need a certain number of hours where the temperature is below 40 degrees. You can look up a chart to see what chill hour area you live in.
In general, blueberry bushes are split up into high chill and low chill varieties. High chill is for people with 750-1000 chill hours, and low chill is for 150-750 chill hours.
Blueberries grow all over the country and can even be grown in southern California or Florida if a low chill plant is chosen.
What are you hoping for in a blueberry? Do you want soft, juicy and large berries that pop in your mouth? Or smaller, firmer berries for canning or dehydrating? Think about what you want in a berry and then read about the different varieties or call Raintree Nursery to talk to a horticulturalists for free. They can tell you what are the best types for your wants. Blueberries can grow from between 18”-7’ tall, so you need to decide how high you want your plant to grow. Keeping it short with pruning is a good idea to keep it easy to harvest the berries. Blueberries that are newly planted should have their berry bust stripped off them to produce more foliage rather than berries for the first year or two. This will ensure a big crop by the 3rd or 4th year.
Blueberries are broken up into three ripening times:
Early blueberries are going to ripen around the middle to end of June. Mid blueberries will be ripening around the middle of July in most parts of the united states. The Late berries will be ready for harvest by the middle of August.
We always suggest that people buy several varieties of blueberries and keep them close together. This ensures proper pollination, and can also be advantageous for selecting an early, mid and late ripening blueberry bush. This ensures you have a steady stream of fresh blueberries all summer!