Propagation of blueberries by seeds. How to grow blueberries from seeds and other solutions to the complex problem of growing garden berries Blueberries from seeds at home

18.10.202127.05.2017

Blueberries have always been considered a forest crop. However, curious gardeners love to conduct interesting experiments and try to grow exotic and non-standard plants for their region in their plots. The desire to grow delicious garden blueberries from seeds and annually harvest harvests of this incredible food at home has not been left aside. healthy berries. Through hard work, this dream often becomes a reality.

Propagation by seeds allows you to quickly grow a large number of plants adapted to environment and less susceptible to disease. Garden varieties of blueberries, as a result of persistent breeding work, contribute to the cultivation of good harvests with the necessary taste characteristics. However, blueberries from seeds grow slowly and begin to bear fruit no earlier than five years after planting.

Choosing a blueberry variety

Depending on the size, garden blueberry varieties are divided into:

short;
medium height;
tall.

These are frost-resistant plants with excellent taste qualities berries The assortment of garden blueberries on the market allows you to choose varieties that are suitable in height and have the necessary characteristics.

When growing in pots, you should give preference to low-growing varieties, and for planting use large containers of at least 60 cm in diameter.

When and how to prepare planting material

To successfully grow blueberries at home, it is better to buy ready-made seeds, which are commercially available in large quantities today. However, gardeners with extensive experience often use berries that have reached full ripeness to obtain seeds.

From picked berries The seeds are removed, dried at natural temperature and stored in a cool place. During the winter, the seeds are stratified and are ready for planting in early spring.

Berry selection criteria

To harvest seeds, choose strong, healthy bushes, from which large berries of a dark, rich color with juicy and dense pulp are removed.

Preparing seeds for sowing

The seeds are stored throughout the winter in the refrigerator or any other cool place. At low temperatures the seeds ripen, gain strength, and their germination capacity increases significantly. In the spring they are taken out and sown in pre-prepared soil.

Substrate preparation and sowing

Blueberries are sensitive to light, so seeds are sown at home no earlier than March. If necessary, organize artificial lighting. In such conditions, the seeds quickly germinate and actively develop. Careful soil preparation guarantees seed germination and their successful transformation into a healthy plant.

Blueberries need acidic soil with a pH between 3.5 and 5.5. Soil with low acidity levels requires acidification.

For planting, prepare a soil mixture consisting of peat and pine litter. They are taken in equal proportions. A small amount of humus and sand will improve the soil structure and promote the growth of healthy plants.

An excellent option for fruitfully growing blueberries are ready-made soils for azaleas with medium acidity.

Seeds are sown in pre-prepared pots or boxes, thoroughly watered and covered with film until germination.

When should we expect the sprout to appear?

After sowing the seeds in the ground, the first shoots can be expected to appear within a few weeks. As soon as the seeds hatch, the film is removed.

Sprouting blueberries from seeds requires a lot of effort and attention, and a favorable result is not always guaranteed. It is much easier to grow blueberries in large quantities by buying ready-made seedlings in containers. It takes root well in open ground. The percentage of death of transplanted plants is minimal.

Specifics of transplantation to a permanent place

In most regions, blueberries are open ground planted in spring. By the first cold weather, the plant has time to take root and grow stronger. Autumn planting is only relevant for areas with a mild climate and warm winters. A long, warm autumn allows plants to adapt to the environment and survive the winter well.

When planting seedlings in a permanent place, prepare large holes measuring 80 x 80 and fill them with suitable soil.

The seedlings are planted carefully, without destroying the earthen ball and trying not to damage the delicate roots.

Features of care

Home conditions are not natural for growing blueberries, so attention and careful care are more important than ever.

Watering

Blueberries are sensitive to moisture. Drying out the soil is unacceptable for it. The plants are watered with rainwater that has settled for 24 hours. Carefully ensure that the soil always remains slightly moist.

What to feed

When growing blueberries, the acidity of the soil is periodically monitored, because it is the guarantor of the successful development and fruiting of plants. With any changes, the indicators are brought to the required standards.

Every three years the plants are fed with organic matter, and complex fertilizers are applied annually.

We form young seedlings

Blueberries are not pruned immediately after planting. Only in the 3-4th year do they begin to carry out annual pruning. At the same time, frozen, dried and damaged branches are removed. For good fruiting, an adult plant requires 6-8 strong, developed branches. Weak and underdeveloped shoots are removed. Old branches are gradually updated with new ones.

The aging of bushes immediately affects the yield, so a plant older than 15 years needs strong anti-aging pruning. It is carried out in early spring at a temperature no higher than +5 °C at a height of about 30 centimeters above ground level. The sections are carefully treated with garden varnish.

Protection from insects and diseases

For favorable plant growing and berry ripening, annual preventive measures are required. Timely pruning and treatment of bushes with Bordeaux mixture can prevent a number of the most common diseases and grow a healthy plant.

Aphids and scale insects are partial to growing blueberry bushes. To protect against these pests, the plant is sprayed with insecticides.

Do I need to cover it for the winter?

Blueberries tolerate sub-zero temperatures well. An adult plant does not need shelter. The roots of young seedlings are protected from severe frosts with a thick layer of sawdust mulch.

Everyone knows that blueberries are good for health. Its berries contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals. The plant prefers to grow in coniferous forests. But many gardeners want to plant this plant on their site. In order for it to grow and develop, it is necessary to create conditions familiar to it. Grow blueberries on personal plot It’s very simple, the main thing is to know all the intricacies of planting and caring for the plant.

Despite the fact that blueberry picking requires a person to constantly be in an inclined position when picking berries, everyone wants to enjoy the berries. Blueberries are a plant that is not afraid of either frost or heat. In most cases, it grows in the middle zone, but sometimes you can find this plant beyond the Arctic Circle. Because she likes to be next door coniferous trees, hence the conclusion that she loves fairly moist places with high acidity of the soil.

Thus, before you grow blueberries from seeds at home, in order for the plant to feel good, develop and bear fruit, it needs to create an environment similar to its natural one. Despite the fact that a garden type of shrub will be grown, its growth conditions should not differ in any way from the growth conditions wild plant. When planting blueberries, you should not make the mistake of planting them in the shade of trees. This bush loves light, so the area where it will grow should have partial shade and a small pond nearby. These conditions can be created artificially, for which the bush will thank you with a generous harvest.

Blueberries in a pot

Blueberry propagation methods

Blueberry is a shrub that produces long shoots and grows up to eighty meters high. The shrub belongs to the Heather family. The berries are black with a purple tint and contain many seeds inside. In order to plant blueberries on your site, it is necessary, first of all, to choose the right soil and place for planting. It should be taken into account that the soil must have increased acidity. In addition, the plant needs to be grown in places where there is constant shade. This could be fences or shade from large trees with a dense spreading crown.

The shrub reproduces in three ways:

Cherenkov;
dividing the bush;
seed.

In order to plant blueberries using cuttings, they must first be prepared correctly. To do this, cuttings of at least six centimeters in length are cut. They are buried in a greenhouse or box in order for a root system to form. Only after this, young blueberry bushes are planted in open soil. This method of propagation is suitable only for the summer period. In order to plant blueberries from cuttings, you need to select only woody shoots.

The cut of the cutting must be straight. To reduce moisture evaporation, the lower leaves are completely removed and the upper leaves are shortened. The lower edge of the cutting must be treated with a root formation stimulator.

A layer of peat or peat humus is poured into the box. The ball must be at least six to eight centimeters. River sand is poured on top, in a layer of two to three centimeters. The cuttings are planted in sand, but in such a way that they do not come into contact with peat. Otherwise, the peat layer may cause rotting of the cuttings.

The box is covered with film or glass. During the formation of the root system, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the soil. It must be constantly wet. To do this, spraying is carried out periodically. In addition, young seedlings need ventilation.

Seedlings grown from cuttings do not need to be disturbed until spring. In winter, they are covered with spruce branches and only after the snow has melted and it becomes warm, the most strong plants transplant to a permanent place.

Shrubs are propagated by cuttings

In autumn, blueberries can be propagated by dividing the bush. In this case, the mother bush is dug out of the ground and divided into several bushes. But at the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the kidneys are not damaged during division.

The most popular method of propagation still remains the seed method. But at the same time, you can use the seeds from both fresh ripe blueberries and frozen ones. In addition, you can purchase ready-made seed material at a seed store.

When planting blueberries on your site, you need to be able to determine where the wild blueberries are and where the garden ones are. Garden blueberry bushes grow to a height of at least one and a half meters, and the berries do not have a bitter taste, although the aroma is weak compared to wild ones.

Garden blueberries: propagation from seeds of ripe berries

In order to collect blueberry seeds at home, you need to mash several berries in a glass and add plenty of water. Since a blueberry seed is still heavier than water, the seeds will settle to the bottom, and the peel and pulp will float to the surface. The water must be carefully drained. The procedure is carried out several times in a row until the water becomes completely clear. The seeds are taken out of the glass, laid out on a napkin and dried. After this, you need to fill the pots, boxes or other containers with peat and sow the seed in a thin layer.

A few weeks after sowing, the first shoots will appear. Just before the frost, the seedlings must be taken to a warm room, in which the air temperature must be maintained between five and ten degrees. In the spring, the seedlings are picked and grown to a certain age throughout the year. Only after this can they be transferred to a permanent place.

Homegrown blueberries are delicious

You can sow seeds directly in the garden, but in this case the bed must be covered with film or glass. It is necessary to carefully monitor the soil moisture level and moisten it as necessary. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that seedlings grow and develop very slowly. Over the course of the entire summer, they can grow only one centimeter. But, nevertheless, the seedlings are planted in a permanent place for the growth of blueberry bushes in the fall. With the onset of the first frost, they need to be covered with spruce branches. Indeed, despite the fact that blueberries are not afraid of severe frosts, young seedlings are quite fragile and may not survive the winter.

You can also grow it by seed in another way. To do this, drop ripe berries in the selected place without collecting the seeds from them. In spring you need to wait for shoots. Planting blueberries this way brings little effect. In addition, seedlings are not formed in the same way. In this case, blueberries can germinate for several years.

Planting material can also be obtained from frozen berries. Berries can be frozen at home or purchased at the store. You need to get seeds from the berries, treat them with Zircon solution and a growth stimulator. Only after this can the seeds be sown in the prepared container.

The soil is prepared in such a way that it is the same as in the garden. To do this, take peat and add sand, tree bark, sawdust, and fallen leaves. Since blueberries love acidic soil, one hundred grams of sulfur should be added to the mixture.

It should be noted! When planting seedlings in open soil, it is necessary to carry out oxidation. To do this, the soil is watered with water with the addition of citric or oxalic acid. If you don’t have these acids on hand, you can use acetic or malic acid. In this case, one hundred grams of acid is diluted into ten liters of water.

If you sow seeds correctly and adhere to step by step instructions, then they will sprout within a month, but it will be possible to enjoy the fruits only after three years.

Before planting blueberry seeds, you need to choose an area. In a place where water stands for a long time during rains, sowing is not recommended, as this indicates that groundwater is close to the surface.

Proper care of the plant is as follows:

At the time of buying planting material you need to remember that blueberry sprouts should be in a pot, but not with an open root system. Before planting, it is dipped in water and only after that it is planted in the ground;
Blueberry bushes should be placed one meter apart;
After planting, the soil must be mulched and weeds removed from time to time;
Blueberries need to be watered at least twice a week, and at least two buckets of water should be poured under one bush;
In the spring, it is necessary to do pruning, during which all diseased and dry branches are removed, then the bush will look neat and well-groomed;
The bushes are healed once a year, done in spring or autumn.

At the same time, every three or four years you need to apply mineral fertilizers to the blueberry bush. To do this, you can use complex fertilizers that are used for heather plants. To scare away birds that like to feast on blueberries, you need to use a net or tinsel left over from the New Year's celebration. Since garden blueberries are very demanding in terms of growing conditions, they need to be looked after constantly.

Blueberries are a very fastidious plant, but proper care behind it, the gardener will receive an excellent harvest of tasty, and at the same time healthy berries. To do this you need to make every effort and patience.

Growing blueberries from seeds has recently become an increasingly popular practice among gardeners who want to see homemade blueberries on their table. delicious berries. If you follow the rules for growing this berry, you can enjoy its great taste while harvesting a generous annual harvest.

Before planting, blueberry seeds need stratification, that is, recreating the natural wintering conditions of the seeds. This ensures their high germination rate and better growth in the future. For stratification, blueberry seeds should be placed in a container with soil in late autumn and taken to a cool basement for the whole winter, and in the city the container with seeds can be stored in the refrigerator, in the tray in which vegetables are usually placed. You can also plant the seeds directly on the site, first filling it with suitable soil.

You need to take special care of its quality. Under natural conditions, blueberries grow on fairly acidic soils, and the gardener’s task is to recreate the natural growing conditions of the berry as accurately as possible.

Expert opinion. To acidify the soil, you need to use natural materials - fallen leaves, pine needles and sawdust of coniferous wood, moss. As a top dressing, you cannot use anything that practically does not get into the soil in the natural growing environment of blueberries, such as chalk and active organic substances.

Emergence and care of developing plants

If the conditions for stratification and preparation of suitable soil were met, and the seeds themselves were viable, the appearance of the first shoots should be expected approximately a month after the temperature becomes high enough for this. To protect the seeds and control humidity and temperature, blueberry crops in the spring should be covered with film, glass or plastic.

Mulching plays an important role in ensuring the normal development of plants. As mulch, it is best to use the same materials that were added to the soil to acidify it, that is, pine needles, foliage and moss. With mulching you can achieve:

optimal level of soil moisture;
preventing it from excessive drying out;
mulch, gradually decomposing, evenly saturates the soil with useful substances and allows you to recreate natural conditions, in which wild blueberries grow.

First wintering of young blueberry seedlings

You need to be prepared for the fact that blueberries grow very slowly, and by autumn the seedlings will only be a couple of centimeters high. In the fall, they need to be identified to a permanent place of growth. To do this, the selected area is filled with specially prepared soil and the seedlings are carefully planted so as not to damage the root system of the plant. Before the onset of cold weather, it is imperative to cover the blueberry plantation with soft spruce branches, a layer of which will not only protect the plants from the cold, but will also prevent the soil from losing a lot of moisture in conditions of little snow in the winter.

Blueberry harvest

In the second and subsequent years of plant life, you need to regularly water them and update the layer of mulch, remove weeds, and apply fertilizers. The appearance of the first berries occurs 5-6 years after sowing blueberry seeds.

Blueberries - rich in vitamins and microelements, especially beneficial for vision wild berry. Excellent taste with low calorie content has become a godsend for nutritionists; blueberry jam, muffins and rolls with blueberries are loved by sweet tooths all over the world. The berry has also long been used in folk medicine. Information on how to grow blueberries from seeds at a summer cottage will certainly be useful to beginning gardeners.

Advantages and disadvantages of growing from seeds

Garden blueberries are easy to grow from seeds; you can even use frozen berries. Of course, this is a complicated matter, but fruit-bearing bushes will certainly delight gardeners.

Planting blueberries with seeds has a number of advantages:

you can use the seeds of frozen blueberries purchased at the supermarket;
American varieties of tall blueberries, the seeds of which can be purchased from us, practically do not get sick and are not attacked by pests;
garden varieties grown from seeds give a good harvest and do not differ in chemical composition from “wild” relatives.

The disadvantages of such reproduction are:

if the seeds are taken from a wild berry, they will not take root in the garden plot;
even with good care, the seeds do not germinate quickly and grow slowly;
planted in open ground in the second year after germination.

For good growth, the bushes need light acidic soil, this is a prerequisite, otherwise the plantings will not take root.

Choosing a blueberry variety

When choosing seeds for planting in the country, you should know that wild berry bushes are low-growing, they do not grow more than 50-80 centimeters.

Garden berry bushes can be short, medium or tall.

Low varieties include: Sunrise, Erliblue, Kovil.
Medium-sized ones are: Jersey, Herbert, Nelson.
Tall varieties, reaching 2 meters: North blue, Northland, Patriot, Bluestar 701, Toro.

All varieties tolerate frost well and are suitable for the Russian climate.

Preparing seeds for sowing

If you select the seeds for sowing yourself, it is better to take the largest frozen blueberries purchased in the supermarket. Freezing is essentially stratification for seeds.

Seeds purchased from trusted sellers are fully prepared for sowing. The berries should be mashed well and filled with water. The best seeds, which are the heaviest, will settle to the bottom. The water needs to be drained several times to get rid of the berry pulp.

The seeds can be spread out on filter paper to dry, and then the required amount of planting material can be torn off and placed in the ground along with the paper. They are very small; If you don’t want to use paper, you can use a toothpick for planting.

In this case, the seeds are sown in a pot or special container. Seedlings sprout 2-3 weeks after sowing the seeds. Growing blueberries from seeds in a pot takes a long time, but is a lot of fun.

The second way to plant a plant on a site with seeds: several are buried in a selected place in the garden. fresh berries blueberries

In this case, the appearance of strong, friendly shoots on next year It’s hard to expect, but since the method is very simple, it makes sense to try, especially since blueberry bushes are a decoration of the landscape.

Landing dates

Blueberry seeds are planted in a pot in the fall. After germination, the container with the plant is taken out to a bright and cool room (an enclosed veranda or summer kitchen is suitable) with a temperature of +5-8 °C. In the spring, the pots with the plant are taken out into the air, and a homemade blueberry bush is planted in open ground with the onset of autumn or next spring.

Important: blueberries grow extremely slowly; The first year after planting, the plant must be covered for the winter with sawdust, spruce branches or special fabric.

It begins to bear fruit in the 3rd year and produces good harvests for 20-30 years.

Substrate preparation and sowing

For planting, take equal parts of peat, river sand and fallen pine needles. The berry grows only on light acidic soils. Soil pH - 3.8-5. The plant requires slightly shaded conditions. Seeds should not be planted deeply; plants love moisture, but cannot tolerate overwatering. To keep the soil acidic, you need to water the soil once a month with acidified water (use acetic or citric acid).

If you cannot prepare the soil yourself, you can use ready-made soil for azaleas; it is acidic and suitable for blueberries. The container with the seeds is covered with a film, which is periodically removed to ventilate the seedlings, and the soil is moistened with a spray bottle.

Transplantation to a permanent place

To plant berry bushes, holes are dug at a distance of at least a meter from each other, with a diameter of 60 centimeters and a depth of about 80 centimeters.

Gravel or expanded clay is placed at the bottom of the finished hole as a drainage layer. Next comes a layer of fallen pine needles, and then a mixture of sand, soil and peat. Then the soil is watered and allowed to settle. The plant should be planted in the hole together with the soil from the pot; it does not need to be shaken off the roots. The soil is compacted. The root collar should be covered, the plant should be watered abundantly, adding a bucket of water to each bush.

When planting in autumn, the plant must be covered for the winter, since in our latitudes it does not have time to adapt to new conditions and grow stronger.

Important: the plant does not tolerate organic fertilizers.

Blueberries should not be planted in the shade; they will not bear fruit; only slightly shaded areas suit them best.

Blueberry care

The plant is capricious, therefore it requires careful care, weeding, watering, and regular acidification of the soil.

Watering, weeding, mulching

The soil under blueberry bushes should be slightly moist; excess moisture leads to diseases and death of the plant.

The plantings are periodically weeded, and the soil under the bushes is mulched with sawdust or pine needles. Bushes should be weeded carefully; blueberry roots are located close to the soil surface and can be easily damaged when loosening the soil or removing weeds.

Fertilizer application

If the soil acidity is low, it is necessary to add citric or acetic acid to the soil. The plant needs mineral fertilizers. Azophoska and complex potassium-phosphorus compounds are used. Fertilizers are applied for the first time in early spring, then at the end of May. last time fertilize in the first ten days of July. Once every 3-4 years, plants can be fed with compost or peat chips. When a plant suffers from a lack of fertilizers, the yield decreases, the berries and leaves become smaller.

Bush pruning

Sanitary pruning of bushes is carried out from 3-4 years. Remove damaged, dried branches, get rid of side shoots.

Ripe berries can be stored fresh or frozen for a long time, preserving their taste and useful material which she is rich in. Garden blueberries are completely identical to forest blueberries in their properties, so more and more gardeners are trying to grow them in their own summer cottage.

Everyone knows that blueberries are good for health. Its berries contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals. The plant prefers to grow in coniferous forests. But many gardeners want to plant this plant on their site. In order for it to grow and develop, it is necessary to create conditions familiar to it. Growing blueberries in your garden is very simple; the main thing is to know all the intricacies of planting and caring for the plant.

Despite the fact that blueberry picking requires a person to constantly be in an inclined position when picking berries, everyone wants to enjoy the berries. Blueberries are a plant that is not afraid of either frost or heat. In most cases, it grows in the middle zone, but sometimes you can find this plant beyond the Arctic Circle. Since she likes to be adjacent to coniferous trees, it follows that she loves fairly moist places with high acidity of the soil.

Thus, before you grow blueberries from seeds at home, in order for the plant to feel good, develop and bear fruit, it needs to create an environment similar to its natural one. Despite the fact that a garden type of shrub will be grown, its growth conditions should not differ in any way from the growth conditions of a wild plant. When planting blueberries, you should not make the mistake of planting them in the shade of trees. This bush loves light, so the area where it will grow should have partial shade and a small pond nearby. These conditions can be created artificially, for which the bush will thank you with a generous harvest.

Blueberries in a pot

Blueberry propagation methods

Blueberry is a shrub that produces long shoots and grows up to eighty meters high. The shrub belongs to the Heather family. The berries are black with a purple tint and contain many seeds inside. In order to plant blueberries on your site, it is necessary, first of all, to choose the right soil and place for planting. It should be taken into account that the soil must have high acidity. In addition, the plant needs to be grown in places where there is constant shade. This could be fences or shade from large trees with a dense spreading crown.

The shrub reproduces in three ways:

Seedlings grown from cuttings do not need to be disturbed until spring. In winter, they are covered with spruce branches and only after the snow has melted and it becomes warm, can the strongest plants be transplanted to a permanent place.

Shrubs are propagated by cuttings

Garden blueberries: propagation from seeds of ripe berries

Homegrown blueberries are delicious

If you sow the seeds correctly and follow the step-by-step instructions, they will sprout within a month, but you will be able to enjoy the fruits only after three years.

Proper care of the plant is as follows:

When purchasing planting material, you need to remember that blueberry sprouts should be in a pot, but not with an open root system. Before planting, it is dipped in water and only after that it is planted in the ground;
Blueberry bushes should be placed one meter apart;
After planting, the soil must be mulched and weeds removed from time to time;
Blueberries need to be watered at least twice a week, and at least two buckets of water should be poured under one bush;
In the spring, it is necessary to do pruning, during which all diseased and dry branches are removed, then the bush will look neat and well-groomed;
The bushes are healed once a year, done in spring or autumn.

Blueberries are a very demanding plant, but with proper care, the gardener will receive an excellent harvest of tasty, and at the same time healthy, berries. To do this you need to make every effort and patience.

Blueberries have always been considered a forest crop. However, curious gardeners love to conduct interesting experiments and try to grow exotic and non-standard plants for their region in their plots. The desire to grow delicious garden blueberries from seeds and annually harvest this incredibly healthy berry at home has not been left aside. Through hard work, this dream often becomes a reality.

Advantages of seed propagation

Propagation by seeds allows you to quickly grow a large number of plants adapted to the environment and less susceptible to disease. Garden varieties of blueberries, as a result of persistent breeding work, contribute to the cultivation of good harvests with the necessary taste characteristics. However, blueberries from seeds grow slowly and begin to bear fruit no earlier than five years after planting.

Choosing a blueberry variety

Depending on the size, garden blueberry varieties are divided into:

short;
medium height;
tall.

These are frost-resistant plants with excellent taste of berries. The assortment of garden blueberries on the market allows you to choose varieties that are suitable in height and have the necessary characteristics.

When growing in pots, you should give preference to low-growing varieties, and for planting use large containers of at least 60 cm in diameter.

When and how to prepare planting material

The seeds are removed from the collected berries, dried at natural temperature and stored in a cool place. During the winter, the seeds are stratified and are ready for planting in early spring.