• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • About Me
    • Work With Growing Dawn
    • Privacy Policy
  • Shop
  • The Farmhouse
    • Food & Recipes
    • Homeschooling
    • Design & Decor
  • The Homestead
    • Raising Livestock
    • Gardening
    • Natural Health
  • The Heart
    • Worship & Faith
  • Subscriber Library
  • music

Growing Dawn

modern homestead living

Growing Dawn ยป Homesteading ยป Gardening ยป How To Grow Blueberries in Pots

Gardening · May 20, 2022

How To Grow Blueberries in Pots

Please share!

66 shares
  • 40

I had never thought much about growing blueberries in pots until not too long ago. I’m not sure why I assumed they needed to go straight in the ground. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Can blueberries grow in pots? Absolutely! Even if you’re living on a small plot of land or working with a simple patio garden, you can still grow blueberries.

Today’s post is in collaboration with some other awesome bloggers who have gardening knowledge. Be sure to check out the posts at the end of this one and up your gardening game!

ripe blueberries on blueberry bush

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Why I Chose Pots for Blueberries

This year we bought five beautiful, 2 year old blueberry bushes for a great deal. I knew I wanted to put three of them right in front of our house, but that’s all I had room for. The other two I had no clue what to do with. I just knew I needed at least 5 bushes in order to supply a significant amount of blueberries for our family of six.

Now, I can be a little indecisive at times. Why does planting fruit trees and bushes in the ground seem so… permanent? Well, I suppose it just is. But I like to keep my options open. Deciding to grow the rest of our blueberries in pots was the perfect solution! Now I can easily move them around our property for at least a couple more years, and they’ll still flourish.

Maybe you’re like me and just can’t decide on a permanent spot for your blueberry bushes. Keep reading to learn the pros and cons of planting blueberries in containers, how to do it, and how to maintain them once they are planted.

blueberries that grow in pots next to barn

How To Plant Blueberries in a Pot

Obviously, the very first thing you need is your container of choice. There are a few important things to consider when choosing your pot. The first is the way blueberries develop roots. Because they have a shallow root system that likes to spread out more than down, the width of your container matters more than its depth. Choose a container that is at least twice as wide as the starter pot the plant came in.

Secondly, you need the right growing medium. I picked up this peat moss to add in with some magic mix we got from our local nursery. But any compost would work great. The reason I added peat moss is because blueberries love (and I mean love) acidic soil, and peat moss is very acidic. It’s also easy to find and purchase. I have heard that pine bark mulch is a good option for adding acidity to your soil, but haven’t tried it myself. And if you’re blessed enough to have a source for it, raw skim milk or leftover whey is another perfect addition to increase acidity!

Fill your container about halfway with soil mix, then remove your blueberry bush from its starter pot. Now, this next step may seem scary, but it really helps with strong root development. Trust me, you can do it. Pull the roots apart from the bottom of the root ball and spread them out a little before placing in its new home. Then, fill with more soil mix. Water well (with diluted whey if you have it) and you’re done!

close up of unripe blueberries still on the plant

Caring for Blueberry Bushes in Containers

Caring for blueberries in containers is actually really simple. A huge plus when you grow blueberries in pots is that your soil should not need to be amended as often. Since you choose the mix, the acidity level will be more stable, which means less maintenance for you! If you do feel the need to fertilize, choose something that is high in nitrogen as blueberries can really benefit from nitrogen-rich soil.

Your blueberries will need regular watering, especially for the first few weeks after planting. I like to start them out getting water every day for the first week or two. After that they can be watered every 2 or 3 days. If you want to water even less often, try adding a layer of pine bark or pine needle mulch on top of your soil mix.

Blueberries also can benefit from yearly pruning. Keep the plant tidy and encourage more production by pruning some branches in late fall after all leaves are lost. BONUS: if you’re into multiplying plants, I just recently learned that it is possible to propagate blueberry cuttings! But I haven’t tried it yet. Stay tuned, because I definitely plan to try later this year!

If you have a lot of birds around or if your plants are a decent distance away from your house, you will definitely want to consider covering them with bird netting. Once those berries start to turn purple, they are very tempting to our flying friends. And you probably don’t want them stealing all your precious berries.

freshly picked ripe blueberries in palm of hand

Transplanting Blueberries From Pots

How long will blueberries grow in a pot?

It depends on the size of your container. But I’m expecting my bushes to be happy in their 5 gallon pot for at least 3 more years, if not longer. It should be pretty easy to tell when your plant needs an upgrade. It will be clearly outgrowing it’s container; perhaps the container will even seem like it may topple over easily.

When should I transplant blueberries from a pot?

Even once blueberry bushes have become mature and are at full production, they usually handle being transplanted just fine, as long as soil conditions are met. This usually happens once your plant is around 7 or 8 years old. If you aren’t sure if you can keep the pH of your native soil acidic enough, try transplanting your blueberries into a large whiskey barrel filled with soil mix.

I hope this has been helpful in preparing you to successfully grow blueberries in containers. Blueberries that grow in pots can be transported anywhere, so even if you aren’t living in your ideal planting location yet, you can start now. Happy planting, and check out these posts from our May Gardening Blog Hop:

  • How To Create Beautiful and Sturdy Garden Trellisesย by Crowded Table Farmstead
  • Why I Switched To A Raised Garden Bedย by Little House Simple Living
  • How To Build A Garden Fence and Mistakes I Madeย by My Abiding Home
  • How To Plant Tomatoes with Egg Shellsย by Hilltop in the Valley

You might also like these posts here at Growing Dawn:

  • Flourish & Reap The Benefits of Vertical Gardening
  • How To Plan A Small Vegetable Garden for Beginners
  • 10 Quick Growing Vegetables To Plant in September

Pin it for later!

Please share!

66 shares
  • 40
Previous Post: « Instant Pot Vanilla Yogurt: Easy & Healthy
Next Post: Stepping Out in Faith and The Trap of False Humility »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wendy says

    May 21, 2022 at 2:19 am

    This was so helpful! I have two blueberry bushes in the original pots I bought from the nursery. I have no idea where I want to plant them haha, so Iโ€™m going to buy a few pots now!

    Reply
  2. Melissa says

    May 31, 2022 at 5:12 pm

    I think I will try to plant in pots because my blueberries never make it. Thanks for the tips.

    Reply
    • Tiffany says

      May 31, 2022 at 5:23 pm

      Try it! I hope it works for you!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

I’m a mom of 4 boys, just trying to find the beauty of Jesus in the middle of my mess.

Also, I enjoy cows… and plants.

Read more about me here!


Gratitude jar

Join a growing community

 

Let’s Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Categories

Topics

beginner gardening (4) breads (3) breakfast (5) chickens (3) christian parenting (1) community (2) community gardening (1) container gardening (3) cow ownership (1) dinners (1) ebooks (1) educational activities (2) elementary homeschool (4) faith lifestyle (5) fall garden (1) farmhouse kitchen (2) fermenting (2) food preservation (2) gardening (3) garden recipes (3) gather round homeschool (1) healthy desserts (3) healthy recipes (6) herbal remedies (3) home decor (1) home organization (1) homeschool curriculum (2) homestead cow (7) homesteading with kids (5) how tos (7) kindergarten (3) modern homesteading (5) natural remedies (1) raw milk (2) renovations (1) reviews (2) round ups (5) side dishes (2) simple lifestyle (3) sourdough (14) tinctures (2) urban homesteading (3) vegetable gardening (1) vertical gardening (1) worship music (1)

Disclosure & Privacy Policy

Read all the legal stuff here.

Growing Dawn © 2023 ยท All Rights Reserved.

66 shares
  • 40
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}