Planting blueberries will give you blueberries for years to come. Here are a few tips that I have learned about for healthy blueberries. A real plus for blueberries is that they are native plants. Of course, after you read my previous post about protect blueberries from birds, you will understand why they are native plants. Native plants feed the local wildlife whether they are insects, birds or small animals. Blueberries definitely feed the birds if you don’t take measures to protect them for yourself!!
Planting Blueberries from Herring Run Nursery
Herring Run Nursery is a native plant nursery in the Baltimore area. They carry several types of blueberries. They are open on weekends or by appointment during the week. They carry lots of native plants, shrubs and trees. The workers at Herring Run can give you advice on what you might like to plant in your garden to attract native pollinators, birds or small animals. Look up native plant nurseries where you live for the best in native plants.
When planting blueberry bushes it is best to plant at least two different types for the best pollination results. Blueberry bushes are self-pollinating but do better and create larger fruits through cross pollination with different type bushes.
Blueberries Like Acidic Soil
When I dug the holes to plant my blueberry plants, I added a lot of peat moss to the soil to make the soil more acidic. Blueberries grow best in acidic soil. Then I mulched them with pine bark mulch which is also acidic. You could also use pine needles as mulch if you have those available.
Protecting Blueberries in the Winter
I started with just one blueberry bush a few years ago. This bush kept its leaves through the winter. Since we now have deer in our neighborhood, I wanted to protect the blueberry from being eaten. I put deer netting around the bush. I read that the deer don’t like the feel of the netting so they won’t eat whatever it is covering. In the meantime, the leaves were not eaten during the winter. 
Here is a picture of the blueberries growing within the netting. It is clear that the netting would not protect these berries from the birds. I imagine that the bird could just pluck off a blueberry through the netting. So I covered my plant with row cover material.
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