A guide to choosing Blueberry and Cranberry

Please find below some information that you may find helpful in selecting and buying blueberry and cranberry plants:

Growth habit and training. Blueberries grow as upright bushes of up to 1.5m/5ft in height and spread. You should therefore allow 1.5m/5ft between bushes. They need little pruning other than to remove older shoots to encourage rejuvenation. Cranberries spread along the ground. As such they are ideal as ground-cover plants. They should be planted 30cm/12in apart. They require little pruning other than an occasional “haircut” to reduce congestion and to keep the patch tidy.

Cropping season. Blueberries ripen from July until September depending on variety. We offer early, mid and late season varieties. If you are planning to grow more than one variety choose a mixture of varieties to spread your cropping season. Cranberries ripen in September.

Growing in containers. Container growing is an excellent way of growing blueberry and cranberry plants if you have a chalky or alkali soil. The trailing growth habit of cranberry plants also makes them suitable for hanging baskets. You must use an ericaceous (acid) compost and water regularly with rainwater.

Pollination. All blueberries and cranberries are self-fertile and individual varieties can be grown on their own. However in the case of blueberries there is good evidence that cross pollination helps improve the quantity and quality of the crop.