Information about Blueberry Plants and Blueberry Croft Farm

• Don't prune your plants for the first two years after planting. The third year, however, and every year thereafter, trim off one of every three shoots that are more than three years old.
• Mulch to a depth of at least six inches, though one foot of mulch will provide maximum benefits.
• Ensure your plants receive 1–2 inches of water each week.
• Do not dig near the base of your plants. Blueberries have very shallow roots, and you might damage them.
• Check the pH at the beginning and end of each growing season, and add a soil acidifying agent (ammonium sulfate or sulfur-coated urea, for example) if needed.
• The first year in the gound, pull all the blooms off of your plants. This encourages the blueberries plants to put their resources into strengthening their root systems, thus becoming better established during the critical first year.

You will get a few berries the second year after planting. It takes 4 or 5 years for a blueberry plant to approach full production.

Depending on the particular variety of plant, you will probably get 1–2 pints of blueberries the second year. The third year you might expect 2–3 quarts, and the fourth year you should get at least 1 gallon. When the plant reaches full maturity (in 5–7 years), it can produce up to 4 gallons, or 20 pounds, of fruit.

Blueberry plants produce two kinds of buds—fruit buds and leaf buds. Buds appear in early spring, as the plants emerge from dormancy. The large buds found near the tips of the bushes are the fruit buds. The smaller buds appearing on the stems of the plant are leaf buds. Each of the fruit buds will eventually bear a cluster of berries.

• Choose an appropriate location. Blueberries need at least five hours of sun daily. Also, you'll need to check the pH of your soil; while blueberries can thrive in soils with a pH as high as 5.2, a pH between 4.6 and 4.8 is optimal.
• Dig holes about 2 feet deep and 1 foot in diameter. If you're planting several bushes, place them in a row with about 4 feet between each plant. If you're putting in lots of blueberries, you'll need multiple rows, which should stand at least 10 feet apart so you can eventually walk between the mature bushes.
• If the pH of your soil is above 5.2, add one cup of a soil acidifying agent (such as ammonium sulfate or sulfur-coated urea) into the dirt you removed from each hole.
• Put a growth-enhancing mixture in the hole. We recommend an equal mixture of peat moss and soil, which will hold water for your plants' shallow roots. (Note — don't use fertilizer, lime, or stable manure, which will kill your plants by decreasing the soil's acidity.)
• Set your blueberry plant into the hole and re-fill the hole. On many heavier soils blueberries should be planted on a slightly raised bed (6 to 8 inches). This will improve drainage and is critical to avoid root rot.

If intend to plant many blueberry bushes, we recommend either Fall or Spring. For home gardeners planting only a few bushes, we suggest early Spring. Really, the season of planting is less important than achieving the right soil pH and keeping the plants well-watered during the year.

If you know your USDA hardiness zone, just select plants suitable to your environment. If you've never heard of these climatic zones, you can read our brief introduction or just call us (270-908-0703) and we'll be happy to help you select the perfect plant for your environment.

If you want to choose plants by ripening season, height, or berry size, please refer to our sortable list of blueberry varieties.

As a very general rule, most gardeners grow two plants per person. Thus, if you wanted blueberries for a family of four, we recommend eight plants. In addition, be sure to choose plants that ripen at various times throughout the year to ensure you have fruit in Spring, Summer, and Fall.

You should put your order in as soon as possible. If you wait too long, you might find the variety of plant you want already sold out.

Certainly. Custom orders allow you to select exactly the varieties and quantities you want. Custom order plants are usually 6–7 inches tall, and we ship them when you ask for them. For details about customized orders, please either e-mail sales@blueberrycroft.com or call 1–(270)–908–0703. Since our staff spend much of their time in the fields, they might miss your call. We therefore recommend e-mail as the most efficient form of communication.

Once we begin processing your custom order, we'll request a 20% non-refundable deposit. We reserve the right to cancel any order if we do not receive your deposit within 30 days of issuing our request.

No problem! When placing an order, tell us when you want your plants shipped—any time between September and April. We don't ship in the summer since high temperatures harm the plants, and they wouldn't arrive in good condition.

We ship our plants with FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, and UPS, so they generally take fewer than 5 days to arrive. Typically, we send most shipments on Tuesdays so the plants dont't spend the week-end languishing in a package warehouse somewhere. We don't ship plants during the June, July, and August because the heat damages the plants in transit.

We assure you that our plants receive the best of care while they are with us, and our certification by the Kentucky Office of State Entomology ensures our plants are healthy and disease-free when shipped to you. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the health of the plants after shipment, since we cannot know what care they receive in transit or their care once you receive them.  In the unlikely event you receive a damaged or sickly plant, please notify us immediately (i.e. within three days of receiving the plants) and we'll do our best to resolve the problem.  If for any reason you are not satisfied, notify us within two months of shipment. For claims received after May 30th, plants will be replaced the following spring. This guarantee covers full purchase price and does not imply any further responsibility or liability. Shipping will be charged on replacement orders. Your satisfaction is our first concern at Blueberry Croft Nursery. You must receive our approval before sending any plant back, and you must pay shipping on all plants you return. We cannot accept COD. We must receive the damaged plant before we can ship its replacement.

While we don't offer discounts for picking up plants at the farm, we encourage anyone who is able to visit the farm for their plants. First, you save on shipping costs. More importantly, when you pick up your plants you get the plant still in the soil in which it's been growing. This helps your blueberry plant avoid any shock from shipping, handling, and transplantation.