The cultivated blueberries that are specially bred for the garden also place special demands on the soil of the respective location. Growing in a pot can therefore be a good choice in some gardens.
How can you grow and care for blueberries in pots?
Growing blueberries in pots is easy and only requires a lime-free and acidic soil substrate such as rhododendron or azalea soil. Make sure you have enough water, as pots dry out more quickly than garden beds.
Sweet fruits on acidic soil
Cultivated blueberries, an actual North American variant of the wild blueberries that can be collected in the forest in this country, are slightly less aromatic, but are significantly larger and juicier than their domestic relatives. In nature, blueberries grow primarily in the clearings of loose moor forests, as they thrive best on acidic soil with a pH value of 4.0 to 5.0. The blueberry varieties offered by specialist retailers for cultivation in the garden also require rather acidic and largely lime-free soil. This can sometimes be achieved on soils that are not too clayey by acidifying them with the following materials:
- Bark mulch
- Mulch from spruce and pine needles
- Conifer and lawn cuttings
The pot as the simpler version
In most home gardens, you will hardly be spared having to replace a larger portion of the soil at the planned location to grow blueberries. Since blueberries have rather shallow roots, the excavated cuboid does not have to be very deep, but it does have to be relatively wide. In order to avoid lateral penetration of lime with the irrigation water, it is usually unavoidable to add a larger amount of rhododendron or azalea soil and peat. Growing blueberries in a pot avoids this problem, as only the pot itself needs to be filled with a lime-free and acidic soil substrate.
Care properly for the blueberries in the pot
In principle, cultivated blueberries tolerate a sunnier location than native wild blueberries in the forest. However, when growing in a pot, greater care must be taken to ensure there is sufficient water supply, as the substrate in the pot dries out much more quickly due to wind and sun than a garden bed. Especially during the blueberry harvest season in July and August, the bushes need a lot of water in order to be able to produce juicy and fully ripe fruits on the branches. Blueberries in pots should be checked and watered particularly regularly during dry periods.
Tips & Tricks
Peat from the mining of bogs no longer corresponds to the concept of environmentally friendly garden design. However, composting companies often also offer soil substrates acidified with mulched bark components for sale.