Mulch also helps maintain soil moisture, prevents weeds, and reduces soil temperature in the summer.

These types of mulch are acidic and will help maintain a low soil pH.

Pack the soil firmly around the roots, then mulch the planting with 2 to 4 inches of sawdust, peat moss, oak leaf or pine needle mulch.

Dig the holes large enough to accommodate all the roots and deep enough so you can cover the uppermost roots with 3 to 4 inches of soil.

Plant young blueberry bushes in late April or early May.

If the variety you purchase is listed as growing larger than that, then space them a little further apart.

Space blueberry plants about 3 feet apart.

Poor air movement increases danger of spring frost injury to blossoms and favors disease development.

Trees provide too much shade, compete with plants for water and nutrients, and interfere with air movement around plants.

Small-medium, sky-blue berries. Sweet, mild flavor. Throughout the life of the plants, maintain a few inches of wood mulch around them. Choose an organic acid fertilizer, such as one recommended for azaleas and rhododendrons. If you see light-green or red leaves in the summer or not much shoot growth, it is likely that the soil pH is no longer in the optimum range of 4.0 to 5.0, or nitrogen is needed. Even if the coffee grounds you use happen to be acidic, a massive amount would be needed to change the soil pH, and the results would not be reliable. Do not use coffee grounds as a pH amendmentĬoffee grounds are not always acidic and should not be relied upon as a pH amendment for blueberries. This will show whether the soil has reached the correct pH, or of more amendment is needed.Īs the soil settles and decomposes over the years, you will need to continue adding sulfur to the planting bed.Ĭontinue to have your soil pH tested every year or two, and amend as needed. Since these are general guidelines, and every soil responds differently to inputs, submit another soil sample from the planting area about 6 months after planting. The roots will expand outward, so amending the soil in a 2-3 foot wide strip is important to ensure the roots have access to acidic soil.

Amend the soil in the entire planting area, not just in the planting holes.

A soil with a pH closer to 7.0 will require more peat (5-6 inches) than a soil with a pH of 5.5-6.0 (4-5 inches).Please be mindful of the potential environmental impacts of peat mining. This can be done by digging out the soil in the planting area, inserting the peat, and mixing part of the soil back in so that the planting area is a mixture of peat and soil. Add 4-6 inches of sphagnum peat to the top 6-8 inches of the soil in the area where the blueberries will be planted.Adding sphagnum peat can serve this purpose if the original pH is between 5.5-7.0. Since sulfur takes months to alter the pH, gardeners wishing to plant immediately may need to create an acidic planting medium to plant into. To determine how much to apply, follow the product label. The amount of sulfur to apply depends on the soil pH and soil type. It may be marketed as soil acidifier or as soil sulfur/sulphur. To do this, add elemental sulfur to the soil in the planting area.Įlemental sulfur is widely available in garden stores. It is best to amend the pH with sulfur the fall before planting, because it takes several months for sulfur to change the soil pH. Sulfur is preferred, because the environmental consequences of sphagnum peat mining are becoming an increasing concern. If the pH of the soil is over 5.5, then the soil is not acidic enough for blueberries.Īdd an acidic soil amendment such as sulfur or sphagnum peat to the soil to lower the pH before planting. Signs of iron chlorosis caused by high soil pH Soil pHīlueberries require a pH between 4.0-5.5.

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