Grow Your Own Blueberries!

Blueberries are one of the most rewarding shrubs you can add to your garden. They are beautiful landscape plants with an attractive form, eventually getting 4-5 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide, depending on variety. They produce abundant clusters of urn-shaped, white flowers in spring. A few varieties are evergreen, but most are deciduous. Their brilliant fall color will light up your landscape.

On top of all that beauty you get -- berries! It is such a treat to pick fresh blueberries from the garden in the morning for breakfast. For best results, plant more than one variety to insure good pollination. It takes a year or two for plants to get established enough to produce big crops, but your patience will be well rewarded.

Blueberries are a treat for wildlife, too. Their flowers provide nectar for native bees, butterflies and other pollinators. They are a larval food source for several butterflies. And they provide good nesting sites, cover and fruit for birds.

Here are the varieties we have in the Garden Center now:

• 'Duke' - one of the early bloomers, fruit ripens in late June. Deep blue, mild-flavored berries. Heavy producer.
• 'Bluecrop' - midseason, large berries. Excellent flavor and an attractive plant. 
• 'Blueray' - midseason, vigorous and tall. Crisp fruit. Can tolerate more sun than 'Bluecrop.'
• 'Bluejay' - vigorous grower with heavy fruit set.

We will have three more varieties available for you in May.

Come see us! We are open this week on Thursday, from 11 - 3.