For home garden use I would suggest digging a hole 1 foot around and 1 foot deep.  For commercial plantings (100+ plants), I would just use an 8" to 16" auger and go about 12" to 18" deep.  It doesn't have to be exact and your ph level will determine how much amending you need to do to your soil.

Blueberries like a ph of 4.5 to 5.5 (acidic) and like a high content of moisture and organic material, peat moss, sawdust, woodchips and decomposed leaves are excellent mulching materials for blueberry bushes. They should be watered often, but over watering for a long period of time is not good for them, if the top inch of soil is damp then you are OK. The blueberry bush is shallow rooted and cultivation if any should be shallow, many people keep the area around the bushes mowed for an attractive appearance.

New plantings can be fertilized with a water soluble slow release fertilizer 6 weeks after planting and should be watched carefully for lack of water. If your plants do not grow or produce as they should then recheck soil for acidity and nutrients. That being said your plants won't grow much the first year.

Pruning is necessary for removing dead or broken branches, thin or brushy wood growing horizontally and around the base of the bush, remove old stems that have lost their vigor and have not grown new shoots also stems or canes that are 6 yrs or older to encourage new growth, to prune 6 year and older canes cut the cane off at the base of the plant as close to the ground as you can, the plant will sent up new canes to replace the ones you prune off, it is the 3 to 5 year old stems/canes that produce the bulk of the fruit. Pruning should be done in the fall or winter when the plant is dormant. Do not prune to shape your blueberry bush, the fruit comes on the ends of the branches so shaping will simply be cutting off the fruit buds.

Potted plants should be planted a 1/4" to 1/2" deeper than the pot itself  with 2" to 4" of mulch on top of that.

The bulk of the fruit comes on the 3 to 5 year old branches, but that does not mean you will not get some fruit the first couple of years, usually when the plant is 3 to 4 years old you will be getting fruit, I would guess you would get about a pound on a 3 year old bush and around three pounds on a 4 year old bush, now of course that will depend on what time of year the bush was planted and how well it has been correctly taken care of and the age of the bush when it was planted but once they start growing they grow rapidly, usually the first year in the ground they tend to grow more slowly due to getting established but after that watch out !

You may catch me repeating myself on this but, I always like to stress to people with new blueberry plantings, ph is very important, 4.5 to 5.5, you can lower your soil ph with sulfur or aluminum sulfate (expensive) or ammonium sulfate.

Although the varieties we raise are all self pollinating, by using two different varieties you can achieve higher yields.

Blueberry Bushes are a unique and beautiful free standing bush that can serve as an ornamental shrub as well as fruit production. In the spring the green foliage is thick and attractive the flowers that precede the fruit are pretty with a light perfume, as the flowers fall green berries form which turn blue as they ripen, in the fall the foliage turns bright shades of reds.

They are easy to care for and maintain. I cannot stress this enough, they require a ph of 4.5 to 5.5, if a blueberry bush is not doing well or is dying it is nearly always because the ph is wrong ! They like to be mulched with peat moss, woodchips, sawdust, pine needles, leaves or other acid content organic materials.

Blueberries like a good supply of water, especially the first year as they are a shallow rooted plant, cultivation if any should be shallow, many people just keep the grass mowed short around them, but take care during fruit bearing not to disturb the berries or knock them off!

New plantings should be fertilized with a slow release or water soluble fertilizer. We also recommend that you fertilize throughout its life.  We fertilize with 20-20-20 when the leaves first start coming out in the spring.  We then fertilize with ammonia sulfate 6-8 weeks later.  You can start with 1/2 tablespoon and then add an additional 1/2 tablespoon for each year it has been planted, up to 4 tablespoons.

Trimming or pruning is not necessary until your bush is around 5-6 yrs old, pruning is mainly for the purpose of removing dead or broken branches, removing the thin, bushy growth that grows around the base (but do not prune the straight strong new growth coming up from the base) and after your plant is 5 years old remove the 5 year old and older branches to encourage new canes (growth ) growing up from the base.

In the fall your bushes will start turning red, this is what they are supposed to do, the stems may also take on a red hue, after the leaves are red they will fall off for the winter, if you look closely you will see buds on the branches, depending on the age of your bush you will see small leaf buds and larger more swollen looking fruit buds, the fruit buds will be more toward the end of the branches or stems, each of the fruit buds will produce fruit the next summer, so never trim off the ends of the branches, that's where the fruit will be. When spring arrives the leaf buds will begin to open and soon pink & white flowers will follow on the fruit buds, the flowers have a nice light fragrance, as the flower petals fall off you will see the beginnings of tiny green berries forming,they will look very much like tiny peas with a ruffle around one end, these tiny green berries will get larger and larger until finally they start to turn reddish then get a purple tint then turn blue, wait until they are a dark blue and appear to have a dusting on them, then they are ready for picking, the usual picking time is 2-3 weeks depending on the variety you have.

There are many ways to harvest blueberries. Handpicking is the preferred choice for fresh fruit eye appeal, a blueberry rake can be used as an alternative. For the commercial market blueberry catchers along with hand or powered beaters are used and harvesting machines are an economical way for larger blueberry farms.

To handpick your blueberries cup your hands around the bottom of the cluster of berries and gently but firmly using your thumbs and forefingers roll the berries off the stems into your hands.

Blueberries are great frozen, just pick them and freeze unwashed or washed, but make sure they are dry before you freeze them or they will clump together. You can enjoy blueberries in your baked goods, pancakes, muffins, jams, jellies, on ice cream, cereal, pies or just plain, blueberries are a tasty healthy snack that can be enjoyed all year long.

When you recieve your blueberry bushes please note the variety in each bundle for future reference.

Your blueberry bushes have been packaged with the roots potted in 100% peatmoss.  The leaves on your blueberry bushes may have wilted during shippment but do not be alarmed, they are fine and will suffer no lasting effects (if dormant no leaves will be present). Remove your blueberry bushes from the package taking care not to damage the roots or plant stems.  If the peatmoss has dried out any you can simply water the plants when you receive them. 

If you need to hold the plants for a few days prior to planting then sit the plants up and cover the roots with damp peat moss and keep them damp until you have them planted, exposed roots can cause undue stress and may cause the death of the plant.

When you are ready to set your plants out, plant the root system 1/4" to 1/2" deeper than the curent root system, this is where you should make your soil line when planting, it need not be exact but close.  Be sure and rough the edges of the roots up so they won't be root bound and keep going in circles.

IF YOUR PH IS CORRECT : Dig a hole large enough to put in 2 or 3 gallons of wet peat moss to put your plant in, this will give your plant the ideal soil to begin its growing and lesson or elimate transplant shock.

IF YOUR PH IS NOT CORRECT : Then you may want to correct it using aluminum sulfate, sulfur or another sulfur or sulfate product as per directions on the package. Sulfur must be added at least 6 months in advance.  Be careful not to add to much or you will kill your plants.  Also you will want to dig a much larger hole, up to 2 feet square and fill it with peat moss to plant your blueberry bush in.

You will occasionaly want to check the ph of the soil in the area in which your blueberry bushes are planted and adjust as necessary. It is extremely important you have the correct PH or your plants may not grow, show poor growth or die. Blueberry bushes require a PH of 4.5 to 5.5. It is also extremely important that you water them every other day the first year unless it has rained that day, for areas that recieve snow you need not water while snow is on the ground. You can mulch with wood chips, rotted saw dust or compost to retain moisture.

GENERAL CARE INFORMATION

Blueberries require a PH of 4.5 to 5.5 (acidic) and a high moisture content, mulching with organic material, peat moss, sawdust, wood chips, pine needles or decomposed leaves is excellent. Blueberries should be watered often, but over watering for extended periods of time may be harmful, if the top inch is damp you're OK. Blueberries are shallow rooted & should not be cultivated, keep the area around the bushes mowed for attractive appearance & ease of picking.

New plantings should be fertilized with a water soluble slow release fertilizer and should be watched carefully for lack of water. If your plants don't grow well or produce as they should check the soil acidity and nutrients. To grow and produce well the must have the right soil conditions.

Pruning is necessary to remove dead or broken branches & thin brushy wood that is growing from the base of the bush, removing the old stems that have lost their vigor encourages new shoots/canes and is done to canes that are 6 years of age or older. It is the 3 to 5 year old canes that produce the bulk of the fruit. Pruning should be done in the fall or winter when plants are dormant.

Blueberries are attractive, green in summer, beautiful flowers arriving prior to fruiting followed by delicious blueberries & in fall turning brilliant shades of red. They make nice hedges, landscape groups & backyard gardening.  They take 5 to 7 years to reach full production. Plant 6 ft apart and 6 ft from fences etc., the bushes reach on average 6 ft tall & 6 ft across.

BLUEBERRY RECIPES

Double Blueberry Cake
Blueberry Pound Cake
Blueberry Pudding Cake
Blueberry Cobbler
Blueberry Muffins 1
Blueberry Muffins 2
Blueberry Pancakes