Blueberries are a recent addition to Australian fruit bowls and are rarely grown in home gardens. However, as the succulent fruit becomes increasingly popular, fruits like blueberries are finding their way into more and more gardens.
If you are wondering whether blueberries will grow in your area, ask yourself if azaleas grow well in your district. If they do, then blueberries will succeed too.
Blueberries grow best in cooler climates, favouring Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW, southern SA and southern WA within Australia. There are also some growing regions in cool spots in southern Queensland.
Like the azalea, blueberries are members of the Ericaceae family. Most productive cultivars originate from North American stock, where they grow naturally from Canada to southern USA. With their attractive spring flowers and bright autumn foliage, blueberries don't need to be relegated to the vegetable patch, they can also be used as decorative garden plants.
If you are planning to introduce blueberries into your garden remember that some species are evergreen and some are deciduous. All blueberries grow to around 2m or less, so they're also absolutely ideal for small gardens.
Blueberries need a freely draining, acidic and preferably sandy soil where the topsoil is enriched with organic matter, such as cocopeat.
Blueberries are shallow-rooted shrubs with fine, fibrous, surface-feeding roots. Blueberries love the consistent moisture that drip irrigation provides, but perfect drainage is equally important.
Rainwater is ideal for irrigation because it contains few dissolved salts, something blueberries are sensitive to. Bore, grey or recycled water is therefore unsuitable. Blueberries grow best in full sun all year round but will grow in partial shade. Spacing varies between cultivars, with the larger-growing varieties reaching up to 2m high and growing to about 1.5m wide.
As blueberries are sensitive to herbicides it's important to clear the area of perennial weeds before planting. Hand weed for at least the first year after planting, as hoeing or digging around the bases of plants damages their surface-feeding roots.
The best time for planting is between late autumn and spring, when plants are sold bare-rooted and are less likely to suffer from transplant shock than at other times of the year. However, containerised blueberry plants can be purchased year-round.
Blueberries begin cropping at two years. Once the bush is four to eight years old it will produce 2-7kg of fruit.
Pruning helps productivity and, while the aim is to create a vase-shaped bush with an open centre, blueberries also make great hedges. Remove any weak, dead or crossed branches at any time of the year.
Once fruits are fully darkened, taste a few before harvesting. Blueberries do not get any sweeter after picking so it would be a shame to pick them too early. Full sweetness takes a week or so beyond full colour to develop and timing varies between cultivars.
You can certainly grow blueberries in pots, if you're short on space. Because the fruit is quite small, you don't need a lot of surface area.