Highbush blueberry -Vacccinium corymbosum

,Bluecrop,

Height: can reach up to 2 m

Growing conditions in Latvia’s climatic zones: can be planted throughout the territory of Latvia. A widely grown variety in Latvia.

Crown: vigorous-growing, large, spreading shrub with upright branches. Young shoots are green; mature ones are ridged, grey to grey-brown in colour.

Flowers: arranged in clusters, with 8—10 flowers in each cluster; they are borne both on the previous year’s young shoots and on the side shoots of the shrub’s main branches. One flower is approximately 6—12 mm long. The flowers range from white to pale pink, bloom in spring - May, are resistant to spring frosts, and can withstand temperatures from -2° to -4°C.

Fruits: large berries, sweet, tasty, aromatic, and keep well. They begin to ripen at the beginning of August and bear for about four weeks. Up to 8-10 kg can be harvested from one shrub.

Foliage: leaves ovate to lanceolate, 3-8 cm long, dark green on the upper side; in autumn the leaves turn from bright yellow to vivid red

Winter hardiness: high, good frost resistance.

Growing conditions: for planting, choose a sunny place and soil that is nutrient-rich and acidic (pH 4.0-5.0), where moisture is well retained but excess wetness does not accumulate. For planting, it is necessary to dig a hole 0.60 m in diameter and 0.35 m deep, and fill it with a peat substrate. Highbush blueberries have a shallow root system; the greatest root density is at a depth of 23 cm, and they grow more in width than in depth. A peat mix intended for woodland plants may be used, for example "LAFLORAS KKS-M1"; it can also be planted in pure peat substrate, as it contains all the necessary nutrients, and this is then used to fill the dug hole. The plant should be planted as deep as it was growing in the container. Plants are planted about a metre apart from one another, as their branches spread up to 60 -80 cm on each side.

Important to know! Protect from hares and roe deer, so the planting should be fenced! They gnaw the young shoots.

Care:Fertilising. To obtain abundant harvests, it is recommended to feed the plants with ready-made complete fertilisers intended for plants that prefer acidic soil. To maintain acidity, it is recommended to mulch the shrubs every other year in autumn with acidic peat. In the following years after planting, highbush blueberries must be provided with moisture, but they do not require any special care.

Training: in the second half of August, the tips of the nice long shoots should be cut back to encourage branching, because berries form mainly on the previous year’s small side shoots that are 3-8 cm long. In the third year after planting, the shrub should be started to be shaped so that the sun reaches all branches of the shrub and it does not become too dense. This is best done in spring, because then it is possible to see which branches were damaged during winter. Ideally, the shrub should have 7-8 large main branches.