Blueberries

Blueberries

The city has finally finished the sidewalk project in front of my house. I no longer have an excuse for having the ugliest yard in the block. I planted some yuccas and azaleas and a few bulbs; but now it is time for a massive redesign and upgrade for the front yard. One of the themes is to plant stuff we can eat in the front yard as well as the garden. There will be a blueberry hedge all across the front of the yard.

I called Stark Brothers to order some blueberries today. I asked some questions and will share the answers with you. The distance between plants should be the same as the height of the plant at maturity. There should be different varieties for cross pollination. I was told that I should have one “pollinator” plant for every plant of the primary variety. The pollinator plants make blueberries too. They just need to be of a different variety. The new plants from Stark Brothers should produce berries in two or three years.

Blueberries need very acid soil. Ideal PH is about 4.5. Sulfur is an excellent way to achieve this. It can be put directly in the planting hole. In addition to the wonderful berries, the blueberries have pretty red foliage in the fall. I think they will probably attract a lot of birds as well. I hope the birds will leave some berries for us.






David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.