BLUEBERRIES GROWING GUIDE If you have purchased your blueberry plant during its winter dormant season, then there is no need to do anything except plant it, until the plant emerges from the winter. You will notice that the buds swell as spring draws nearer. The large, fat buds near the tips of the shoots are your flowers and fruit this season and the smaller ones are shoots and leaves. As temperatures rise, these buds burst open and growth starts.

SPRING When the leaves have emerged fully, usually towards the end of April, your plant will need its first feed. A balanced ericaceous fertiliser (rhododendron/azalea fertiliser) is recommended.

SUMMER Repeat feeding the plant at the end of June because blueberries have a second stage of growth in late summer. The whole of your plants' root system should be kept moist throughout the growing season, preferably using rainwater as this tends to be acidic. As the fruit starts to colour, try to cover the plants with bird netting to avoid theft of your precious blueberries. In mid to late summer, long canes will grow up through the bush. This is the framework for the future. Pinching out the tips of this growth will encourage a bushy plant, as done for fuchsias and chrysanthemums.

WINTER Pruning is carried out after leaf fall, in mid winter while the plants are dormant. For the first two years after planting, your bushes will need very little pruning, except general tidying up and shortening of very long canes to encourage branching.