Everyone knows that blueberries are good for your health. Its berries are rich in vitamins and minerals. The plant prefers to grow in coniferous forests. But many gardeners want to plant this plant in their area. In order for it to grow and develop, it is necessary to create the usual conditions for it. It is very easy to grow blueberries in your garden, the main thing is to know all the intricacies of planting and caring for a plant.

Despite the fact that blueberry requires that when picking berries, a person is constantly in an inclined position, everyone wants to eat berries. Blueberries are a plant that is not afraid of frost or heat. It grows in most cases in the middle lane, but sometimes it happens to meet this plant beyond the Arctic Circle. Since she loves to live side by side with conifers, it follows from this that she loves rather humid places with high acidity of the soil.

Thus, before growing blueberries from seeds at home, in order for the plant to feel good, develop and bear fruit, it needs to create an environment similar to natural. Despite the fact that a garden type of shrub will be grown, the conditions for its growth should not differ in any way from the growth conditions for a wild plant. When planting blueberries, don't make the mistake of planting them in the shade of trees. This bush loves lighting, so the area where it will grow should have partial shade and a small body of water nearby. These conditions can be created artificially, for which the shrub will thank you with a generous harvest.

Blueberry in a pot

Blueberry breeding methods

Blueberry is a shrub that releases long shoots and grows up to eighty meters high. The shrub belongs to the Heather family. Berries are black with a purple tint, inside which there are many seeds. In order to plant blueberries in your area, it is necessary, first of all, to choose the right soil and place for planting. It should be taken into account that the soil must be acidic. In addition, the plant should be grown in places where there is constant shade. These can be fences or shade from large trees with a dense spreading crown.

The shrub reproduces in three ways:

  • cherenkov;
  • dividing the bush;
  • seminal.

In order to plant blueberries using cuttings, first of all, they must be properly prepared. To do this, cuttings are cut at least six centimeters long. They are buried in a greenhouse or box in order to form a root system. Only after that, young bilberry bushes are planted in open soil. This breeding method is only suitable for the summer season. In order to plant blueberries with cuttings, you only need to choose lignified shoots.

The cut of the cutting must be straight. In order for moisture to evaporate less, the lower leaves are completely removed, and the upper ones are shortened. The lower edge of the cutting should be treated with a root stimulator.

A layer of peat or peat-sludge is poured into the box. The ball must be at least six to eight centimeters long. River sand is poured on top, in a layer of two to three centimeters. The cuttings are planted in the sand, but in such a way that they do not come into contact with the peat. Otherwise, the peat layer can provoke rotting of the cuttings.

The box is covered with foil or glass.During the formation of the root system, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the soil. It should be constantly moist. For this, spraying is periodically carried out. In addition, young seedlings need ventilation.

Saplings grown from cuttings do not need to be disturbed until spring. In winter, they are covered with spruce branches, and only after the snow melts and it becomes warm, the strongest plants can be transplanted to a permanent place.

Shrub propagated by cuttings

In the autumn, blueberries can be propagated by dividing the bush. In this case, the mother bush is dug out of the ground and divided into several bushes. But at the same time, it is necessary to ensure that during division the kidneys are not damaged.

The most popular is still the seed method of reproduction. But at the same time, you can use the seeds both with fresh ripe blueberries and with frozen ones. In addition, ready-made seed can be purchased at the seed shop.

When planting blueberries in your area, you need to be able to determine where the wild blueberry is and where the garden one is. The bushes of garden blueberries grow to a height of at least one and a half meters, while the berries do not have bitterness, although the aroma is weak compared to wild ones.

Garden blueberries: propagation from seeds of ripe berries

How to grow blueberries from seeds at home

In order to collect blueberry seeds at home, you need to knead a few berries in a glass and pour plenty of water. Since a blueberry seed is still heavier than water, the seeds will settle to the bottom, and the skin and pulp will float to the surface. The water must be carefully drained. The procedure is carried out several times in a row, until the water becomes completely clear. The seeds are taken out of the glass, laid out on a napkin and dried. After that, it is necessary to fill pots, boxes or other containers with peat and sow the seed in a thin layer.

A few weeks after sowing, the first shoots will appear. Before the very frosts, the seedlings must be taken to a warm room, in which the air temperature must be maintained within the range of five to ten degrees. In the spring, a pick is made to seedlings, and they are grown to a certain age throughout the year. Only then can they be transferred to a permanent place.

Home grown blueberries are delicious

You can sow seeds directly in the garden, but in this case, the bed must be covered with foil or glass. It is necessary to carefully monitor the state of soil moisture and moisten it as necessary. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that seedlings grow and develop very slowly. For the whole summer, they can grow by only one centimeter. But, nevertheless, the seedlings are planted in a permanent place for the growth of blueberry bushes in the fall. With the onset of the first frost, they need to be covered with spruce branches. Indeed, despite the fact that blueberries are not afraid of severe frosts, young seedlings are rather fragile and may not survive the winter.

The seed method can be grown in another way. To do this, ripe berries are dropped in the chosen place without collecting seeds from them. In the spring you need to wait for shoots. Planting blueberries this way has little effect. In addition, seedlings are not formed in the same way. In this case, blueberries can take several years to germinate.

Planting material can also be obtained from frozen berries. The berries are frozen at home or bought in the store. You need to get seeds from the berries, treat them with Zircon solution and a growth stimulator. Only then can the seeds be sown in a prepared container.

The soil is prepared in such a way that it is the same as in the garden. To do this, take peat, add sand, tree bark, sawdust, fallen leaves to it. Since blueberries love acidic soil, add one hundred grams of sulfur to the mixture.

It should be noted! When planting seedlings in open soil, oxidation must be done. For this, the soil is watered with water with the addition of citric or oxalic acid.If these acids are not at hand, then you can use acetic or malic acid. At the same time, one hundred grams of acid is diluted with ten liters of water.

If you sow the seeds correctly and follow the step-by-step instructions, then they will sprout in a month, but it will be possible to enjoy the fruits only after three years.

Blueberry tips

How to grow thuja from seeds at home

Before planting blueberry seeds, you need to choose an area. In a place where water stands for a long time during rains, it is not recommended to do sowing, as this indicates that the groundwater is close to the surface.

Proper plant care is as follows:

  1. When buying planting material, you need to remember that blueberry sprouts should be in a pot, but not with an open root system. Before planting, it is dipped in water and only after that is it planted in the ground;
  2. Blueberry bushes should be placed at a distance of one meter from each other;
  3. After planting, the soil is necessarily mulched, and weeds are removed from time to time;
  4. Watering blueberries should be at least twice a week, and at least two buckets of water should be poured under one bush;
  5. In the spring it is necessary to do pruning, during which all diseased and dry branches are removed, then the shrub will look neat and well-groomed;
  6. The bushes are healed once a year, they do it in spring or autumn.

Moreover, every three or four years, mineral fertilizers must be applied under the blueberry bush. To do this, you can use complex fertilizers that are used for heather plants. To scare away birds who like to feast on blueberries, you need to use a net or tinsel left after celebrating the New Year. Since garden blueberries are very demanding on growing conditions, they must be constantly looked after.

Blueberries are a very whimsical plant, but with proper care for them, the gardener will get an excellent harvest of tasty, and at the same time healthy berries. To do this, you need to make every effort and patience.