Blueray, Blueberry Plant

Blueray Blueberry Plant

Abundant large berries deliver a sweet midseason harvest
Bright red winter wood adds four-season landscape interest
Long-popular cultivar performs well for pick-your-own plantings
Pair with another northern highbush variety for pollination

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Key Attributes

Botanical Name

Vaccinium corymbosum

Days to maturity

2 Years

Sun

Full Sun

Zones 4–8 Check your growing zone

About Blueray, Blueberry Plant, Blueberry Plant

The Blueray Blueberry produces an abundance of large, sweet and delicious blueberries and is one of the best mid-season pickers around! Blueray is supplied as a live plant ready to establish in the garden. This variety is a very popular mid-season ripening cultivars for u-pick growers. Blueray is an old favorite that shows off its bright red wood in the winter.

Growing details

Plant profile

Life Cycle

Perennial

Hardiness Zone

Zones 4-8

Plant Height

96 inches

Growth Habits

Upright

Seed & variety

Color

Blue

Before Planting

Blueberries succeed only where their unusually acidic soil requirement can be maintained. Test the proposed bed well before planting and adjust it to roughly pH 4.5–5.5 with the recommended amount of sulfur, allowing months for the change. Choose full sun, excellent drainage, and cultivars adapted to the local winter.

Planting

Plant healthy nursery bushes in spring before vigorous growth begins. Tease apart circling roots and set the root ball close to its nursery depth, spacing highbush plants about 4–5 feet apart. Planting two compatible cultivars improves berry size and yield. Water deeply, then apply several inches of wood-based mulch without piling it against the stems.

Watering

Blueberry roots form a shallow mat with few root hairs, so drought injury may begin before dramatic wilting appears. Feel beneath the mulch and irrigate the root zone whenever it starts drying. Moisture remains important after harvest while next year’s flower buds form.

Fertilizer

Do not push a newly planted bush with heavy fertilizer. Beginning after establishment, use an acid-forming product at the rate and timing recommended for blueberries, spreading it beyond the crown rather than against the stems. Yellow leaves call for a pH check before additional feeding.

Harvesting

Berries are not ready merely because they first turn blue. Let them develop full color and sweetness, then pick those that detach easily and feel slightly springy. Harvest repeatedly as clusters ripen, refrigerate in shallow containers, and postpone washing until serving.

Tips

Remove blossoms during establishment so the plant invests in roots and shoots. Young bushes need only broken or weak wood removed; mature plants benefit from annual dormant thinning of old unproductive canes. Renew mulch regularly and recheck soil acidity every year or two.

Pests & Diseases

Mummy berry, anthracnose fruit rot, Botrytis blossom blight, stem canker, and Phytophthora root rot deserve attention. Remove shriveled “mummy” fruit and infected twigs, mulch over remaining mummies before spring, and harvest ripe berries promptly. Healthy acidic soil and dependable drainage are more protective than routine spraying.

Birds can take most of a small planting, while blueberry maggots, spotted-wing drosophila, fruitworms, scale, and Japanese beetles may also appear. Net before berries color, collect overripe fruit, prune for an open canopy, and identify the pest before choosing a control.