Blueberries are a perennial bush that thrive in low soil pH (4.8 is optimal for Rabbiteye blueberries which generally do the best in our area). It’s important to take a soil test every 2 to 3 years to know your pH and fertility recommendations. They also need well drained soils, but have shallow roots and can dry out if not irrigated in dry weather. Varieties that are popular with growers include ‘Climax’, ‘Premier’, ‘Tifblue’, ‘Powderblue’, and ‘Centurion’. Blueberries in the Piedmont start getting harvested typically in early June, depending on the weather.
Pruning blueberries is essential to having a healthy plant and good fruit yield. Blueberry canes grow out from a crown. When pruning, think of your blueberry bush as having three generations of canes – the youngster (reddish appearance, new 1 to 2 years of growth), the middle-age (3 to 5 years of growth), and mature (5 plus years, larger, heaving fruiting, may have lichen growing on them). All three generations are important for a healthy plant to produce a good crop, and have the next generation in line for when it’s time to prune out the older, mature canes. Pruning is generally recommended for the late winter months in January and February.
If you have questions about growing or pruning blueberries, feel free to contact Matt Lenhardt with N.C. Cooperative Extension, Stokes County Center at 336-593-8179, or email at matt_lenhardt@ncsu.edu.
