The best thing about your own garden is being able to plant your own berries. Even better is when those berries are ready to harvest and you get to taste the fresh succulent flavour you have been longing for.

And then the season changed…

So you scramble around reading website after website trying to figure out a way to get more berries and why your berry is dying. Well if you managed to get through all the information you will realise that your blueberry bush is taking time to rest over the next few months.

Let’s get to know the different growth stages of a Blueberry bush…

Flower Bud Development

This stage is when the flower is actually forming. At first it starts off with a closed tight bud which then gradually swells to become bigger. As it grows bigger the tips of the flowers become visible and then ultimately more distinguishable. That one tiny little bud has now become many smaller flowers and can tolerate temperatures of  6°C to -4°C during the last stage.

 

Leaf Bud Development

As the flower buds grow, so too do the leaves start making their way onto the different branches. Being more visible on the bare branches the rolled up leaves become visible as a little bud. Gradually the leaves become even more visible as they unfold from their small cluster. And then they appear in a breath-taking fashion, shoots expanding with enlarged leaves, in the most beautiful green colours you could possibly imagine.

 

Flower Development

Starting of in a soft pink colour the clusters turn into a more visible spectre of separated tubes which are small and closed. They soon develop into individual flowers which are more separated with a soft white colour. And as they grow even further the flowers open up more with some of them still being closed. But not too long, as all the flower tubes open, revealing the soft white clusters. As these flowers then fall off they reveal the long awaited small green fruit. This is the stage which is most vulnerable to frost damage which can occur at 0°C.

 

Full Development and Postharvest

At this stage the excitement can be somewhat overwhelming as the berries expand and show many varying sizes. Slowly they change from green to pink and then blue. Your long wait is finally over as the first crop of berries is ripe and ready to harvest. Berries are picked several times as a few ripen at a time, so enjoy the feast. After harvest, reserves are stored back into the plant and buds set for next year’s growth until leaf fall.

 

Fall Colour

This must be the stage that scares most people as the first reaction that comes to mind is that the blueberry plant is dying. Your plant gave you its berries and needs to take time to heal after all that picking. At the end of the growing season the leaves change colour and will fall off. The nutrients are then stored back into the shoots for growth the next spring.

 

If you want to pick some berries in the comfort of your home then come and choose from our selection of blueberry plants. Whether you just want to start with a blueberry bush at home or need to grow a farm full of blueberries, we have the options just for you.

 

Blueberry Biloxi – R75

 

Blueberry Star – R120

 

Blueberry Early, Mid or Late Season R195 each