Blueberries not only taste great and are healthful to eat, but they also add striking beauty to your garden. No matter what your reason behind growing them is, blueberries can work very well in your landscape plans. In addition to the fruit they produce, blueberries also have beautiful bell-shaped blooms in spring, handsome glossy foliage in the growing season, striking fall color and bright red stems in winter.

Blueberries are easy to grow, require little care and are seldom bothered by pests. They can vary in size from low ground covering varieties to large bushes ranging 4-6 ft. high. Their versatility allows them to be used as background shrubs or as border plants. They even make excellent hedges, if spaced correctly. If you are limited in space or just have a patio, consider planting them in containers.

Different varieties of blueberries produce different sizes of fruit, with flavor ranging from tart to very sweet. Larger fruiting varieties produce fruit perfect for fresh eating and large desserts, while smaller fruiting varieties are better for adding to cereals, muffins and pancakes. Be sure to select different varieties to lengthen your harvest season from June until the end of August. For blueberry lovers, we suggest at least two plants per family member.

Blueberries can tolerate full sun in milder summer climates but prefer partial shade in the afternoon. They prefer a light, airy acid soil, so adding 50% peat moss to each hole is highly recommended. Blueberries like to stay moist but not wet. If your soil does not drain well, consider building a raised bed to plant them in. Feed with an acid plant food in spring and midsummer for best results.

Blueberries can be planted as close as 2-1/2' apart if a solid hedge is desired or up to 6' apart if you want to grow them as individual specimens. Just make sure you have access to them so you can get at those tasty, juicy berries!

We love blueberries and invite you to add them to your garden. We've got some great new varieties in but drop by soon, we have a limited supply!

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Fruit trees like loose soil with good drainage, and sunny locations; poor drainage is particularly troublesome to cherries and apricots. If your soil conditions are less than perfect, but the location you’ve chosen is, why not plant your new additions in a raised bed? This allows you to completely control the soil into which you are placing the trees. Whether in your native soil or in a raised bed, your trees need not be planted too deeply; the root system is what should be underground, not any part of the trunk. If your soil is a heavy clay type, try adding a few shovelfuls of a good compost, well mixed with the native soil.

Be proactive against pests during the cool, dormant months; it will prove much more effective than waiting until warmer weather, as that is when pests become active. February is the perfect time to prune trees, with the exception of larger limbed apricots, which should be pruned in July or August or prior to winter rains. After pruning, apply dormant oil spray, before the buds open. This will provide effective control of over-wintering scale, mealy bugs, whiteflies, and mites. Be sure to take this time to apply dormant sprays to apples, apricots, pears and peaches. Most dormant sprays are copper-based; read instructions carefully and do not spray near bird feeders or ponds. Fixed copper sprays on cherries, peaches and plums will control canker; allow six weeks between applications of copper and any sprays containing sulfur.

Coming into March, apply a fixed copper spray to stone fruits only to control brown rot; do not use sulfur products on apricots.

Try out the 3-way and 4-way trees. Persimmons are very popular and go quickly. We have frost-proof peaches and lots of Italian plums. Yum, this is making me hungry!

Class schedules will be posted on our website March 1st, 2010 for the spring classes.

Well, if you haven't already done so, make sure to protect your fruit trees from pests and disease by applying a dormant spray to them. Most fruit trees should be sprayed at least twice--once in January when they are fully dormant and once again at bud swell.

It's helpful to combine both a dormant oil spray with a fungicide at the same time so you only have to spray once. This important spraying will help prevent fungus diseases such as dead bud and peach-leaf curl, in addition to knocking out any overwintering insects or insect eggs. I recommend Bonide Oil and Lime Sulphur Spray and Lily Miller Dormant Spray.

Since different varieties of fruit trees bloom at different times, it's important to make sure you apply your spray at the proper time for maximum effectiveness. Our staff of garden experts will be happy to guide and advise you with all your spray applications.

Happy Gardening!
Drake