Keep blueberry plants watered

Foul weather or not, spring is officially here. Time to check out new varieties of blueberries arriving at local nurseries. Perhaps you might want to replace worn plants or add more to the collection. It is too wet still to dig in the garden at this time, but there are a few blueberry varieties that do especially well in containers. Pot up a few for a sunny porch or patio.

Choose container-savvy berries: Best to choose varieties of blueberries that will perform well in containers. NorthSky, Sunshine Blue and Patriot are good for container growing. The dwarf Bushel and Berry series of blueberry plants are bred to be small and do well in containers. This includes Jelly Bean, Peach Sorbet and Pink Icing. Please keep in mind that blueberry yield will be best if you have at least two different varieties growing near each other — even if the plant label says selffertile.

Don’t skimp: This means go for the gold when it comes to the planting mix. Blueberries do best in an acid, well-draining planting medium. You can make your own mix by mixing equal parts of peat moss, acid planting mix, mini fir bark and perlite. There are also excellent premade planter mixes created for blueberries. Top dress container plants with an inch of mini fir bark after planting.

Fertilize: Blueberries need an acid type fertilizer that is high in nitrogen. Acidic fertilizers help keep the pH 4.3 to 5.5, ideal conditions for blueberries. Cottonseed meal and blood meal are excellent natural fertilizers that blueberries love. Use them with coffee grounds first in early spring as buds begin to open, then again late spring. That is the fertilizing window. No more after that.

Full sun: Blueberries need at least six hours of sunlight a day. On the foggy coast, even more. Well-tended bushes will always look good with less sun, but fruit yield will be low.

Water: Never allow blueberries to dry out during the summer fruiting months. Plants should be soaked at least twice a week, more often if hot and windy.