Differences between forest blueberries and cultivated blueberries
The cultivated blueberries offered by specialist retailers are actually only very far botanically related to the blueberries found in the forest in this country. There are also significant differences between the varieties in terms of the growth habit of the bushes and the size and color of the fruits. While wild blueberries rarely grow taller than about 40 centimeters, cultivated blueberries can develop bushes up to 2.5 and 3 meters high. So you can not only pick significantly more fruits from cultivated blueberries, you can also find most of them at eye level on the loosely protruding branches. In contrast to forest blueberries, the pulp of cultivated blueberries is almost white, so that the juice does not turn fingers and tongue blue. Forest blueberries taste a little more aromatic than cultivated blueberries,but they can hardly keep up with the plump and juicy fruits of the cultivated varieties. Particularly proven varieties among cultivated blueberries are:
- Northland
- pilot
- Bluecrop
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The demands of cultivated blueberries on the location
Despite all the differences, wild blueberries and cultivated blueberries are also very similar in some ways. Cultivated blueberries do not tolerate excessively calcareous soil in their location and require a rather acidic soil environment with a pH value between 4.0 and 5.0. In contrast to wild forest blueberries, cultivated blueberries prefer a location in full sun, but have to be well watered regularly during harvest time. However, they do not tolerate waterlogging well, which is why you should pay particular attention to a loose surface. If you do not have any acidic soil in the garden, you can line the planting hole for the cultivated blueberries with special rhododendron and azalea soil.
Properly care for and fertilize cultivated blueberries
In general, even mature blueberry bushes do not need regular pruning to keep their shape. However, removing particularly old shoots can stimulate new growth and thus increase the number of fruit in the following year. If you want to make a cut, you should do so in the autumn after the harvest. This will prevent the bushes from drying out too much during hot weather phases in summer. Otherwise, the care of cultivated blueberries only includes watering when necessary and fertilization in two phases. You can increase harvest success if you give your plants a portion of lime-free fertilizer in early spring and towards the end of May.
Harvest and process cultivated blueberries
The harvest time for blueberries in the garden begins around the beginning of July and sometimes extends into September due to the continuous ripening of fruits. Since blueberries only have a very limited shelf life for fresh consumption, freezing or boiling for later use is recommended.
Tips & Tricks
You can easily avoid waterlogging on the blueberry roots by creating a slightly raised earth wall in the row of plants when planting blueberries.