Blueberry Northland #3

• Requires Cross Pollination
• Cross Pollinators – Tophat, Polaris
• 4 – 5 Feet Tall & Wide
• Full Sun (At Least 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)
• Growing Zones 3 – 8

Create an edible and attractive landscape for you, the birds, or both with Northland Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum Northland). This popular native blueberry grows in a compact size (no more than 5 feet high and wide) but is packed with a high yield of fruit. Between flowering and fruiting, this Highbush blueberry will attract bees, butterflies, and birds to your garden. Then come late July through early August, you can enjoy the delicious taste and nutrition of fresh blueberries. After it’s done fruiting, enjoy watching the leaves turn in fall.

Northland Blueberry Bush Care

Choose a spot with full sun (at least 6 hours a day) and set healthy transplants out in early spring in a hole that is at least two times as large as the root ball around the plant. Add good quality soil and some moistened peat moss. Do not add fertilizer at planting; wait about 3 to 4 weeks. Keep the plant watered well so its roots do not dry out while growing in their new home. Space each blueberry at least 5 feet apart to give them room to grow (and for you to get to the fruit). 

Growing Northland Blueberry Bushes

In the first year of growth, remove flowers that appear. Your new blueberry bush needs to put energy toward rooting and growing; it will not produce a yield of fruit for another season or two. Prune any dead out at planting time and as needed in the first year or two of growth. Continue to remove the oldest branches with no production and let some new branches fill in. If birds are eating your new berries, add bird netting over the shrubs. Add a fresh layer of organic mulch above the plant each year.

Growing Northland Blueberry Bushes in Containers

Northland blueberry prefers growing in the ground but it can grow in a large container that is at least 2 feet deep and wide. Make sure it has drainage and keep the plant consistently watered. Use a soil that is 50 percent standard potting mix and 50 percent peat moss. Place the container in full sun, giving it a little afternoon shade at first. Mulch will help retain some moisture.

Watering Northland Blueberry Bushes

Water plants often and consistently, especially in their first year and while flowering and fruiting. Give container-grown plants more frequent watering, since they will dry out faster.

Feeding Northland Blueberry Bushes

Do not fertilize at planting time. Fertilize after every few weeks with a balanced fertilizer, and avoid fertilizing after late July.