Tips from Olle Garden Bed: Nursing of Blueberry In Winter

Most perennial plants enter dormancy in late autumn and winter to protect themselves from the impact of cold temperature; Blueberries are no exception. In most cases, the growth of blueberry plants will slow down with the development of dormancy, and the cold tolerance of plants will increase. However, in some cases, dormancy has not yet been established, so it is most important to protect blueberries for winter to reduce their winter damage. The following content also has some reference value for raised garden beds.

Nursing of blueberry in winter

There is usually no need for special care for blueberries in winter, because fully dormant blueberry plants are usually very cold resistant and rarely suffer any serious winter damage to blueberries. However, it should be noted that plants must be completely dormant, nature does not always cooperate, and allows for the necessary gradual cold hardening to prevent potential winter damage to blueberry plants.

In addition, the warm temperature suddenly recovers after a period of cold, especially in a warm climate. If the berries begin to blossom early and then a cold current suddenly appears, the berries may be damaged. Usually, when this happens, plants will be at different germination stages, and only the budding buds will be damaged. Generally speaking, the winter damage of blueberry plants occurs when the temperature is below 25 degrees Fahrenheit (- 3 degrees Celsius), but this is related to the relative dew point and air volume.

Dew point is the condensation temperature of water vapor. Low dew point means that the air is very dry, which makes the flowers several degrees cooler than the air, making them vulnerable.

Blueberry bush winter care

When faced with the prospect of cold weather, commercial growers turned to overhead irrigation systems, wind turbines, and even helicopters to help protect blueberry crops. I venture to suggest that all this is impractical for family growers. So, what can you do for blueberry shrubs in winter to protect your plants in cold weather?

It may be beneficial to protect blueberries over the winter by covering plants and surrounding them. When covering plants, it is important to capture heat like a small greenhouse. Frames covered with PVC and securely anchored can achieve this. In addition, keep plants moist. Moist soil absorbs and retains more heat.

Of course, ideally, if you live in areas where freezing may occur, you will plant late flowering varieties. Some of these include:

Powderblue

Brightwell

Centurian

Tifblue

Be sure to choose the planting site carefully. Blueberry likes plenty of sunshine, but can tolerate some shadows. Planting in a partially cool canopy will protect the plant from drying, thus helping to prevent frostbite.