Tips for summer residents on how to properly propagate blueberries at home

Berry crops are difficult to root plants. It is important for gardeners to know how to properly propagate blueberries and breeding methods suitable for different climatic zones. Expensive seedlings are the second reason for independently using inexpensive methods for obtaining planting material.

Is it possible to propagate blueberries?

Garden blueberries are low in calories (39 kcal) and contain a rich set of vitamins and minerals. Removes radiation, relieves fever, improves blood composition. In the off-season, the fruits support the body's immune defense. Thanks to its beneficial properties, the culture is becoming increasingly popular.

Amateur gardeners are interested in whether it is possible to grow blueberries themselves, without purchasing plants from specialized nurseries or through intermediaries. If you follow the rules and recommendations, the task is quite doable. The berry crop reproduces in the same way as other fruit bushes.

Reproduction methods and timing

Blueberries can be successfully propagated using seeds and parts of the bush. The first method takes a lot of time, requires considerable effort and does not guarantee the preservation of economic and genetic properties of seedlings. To preserve the qualities inherent in varietal blueberries, a vegetative propagation method is used by cuttings, layering, and root shoots.

A modern achievement of biologists is microcloning of biological tissue taken from a plant.

The choice of propagation method depends on the region, age of the bush, variety, and the choice of timing depends on the type of planting material. In autumn and spring, blueberries are bred using ready-made seedlings and root shoots. Shoot segments and stratified seeds are planted only in spring.

Features of cuttings

A popular way to propagate blueberries is by rooting green, woody or root cuttings, starting with the selection of quality material.

Lignified

From December to March, shoots are harvested from young annual plants and stored in bunches at a temperature of 0–4°C. If the blueberries are low-stemmed, cut the branches into pieces 10 cm long, for high-stemmed varieties - 15 cm.The lower part ends with an oblique cut under the bud.

The top is cut horizontally, leaving 2 cm to the top bud, preventing drying out of the growth zone. Before planting, the bottom of the cutting is powdered with Kornevin or dipped in a solution made from a liter of water and 1 g of a substance that stimulates root formation for 2–7 days.

At the end of March or April, the cuttings are planted in a greenhouse, having previously prepared a box filled with peat substrate. A part of the plant with two buds is left above the ground. You can dig it right into the garden bed, covering it with film or spunbond stretched over arcs. Planting pattern: 5 to 10 cm between plants and rows. The rooting period is from two months.

Green cuttings

Blueberry cuttings are more effective in the summer. A larger amount of planting material takes root, the rooting period is reduced (1.5 months). In the summer, from the last days of June to the end of July, new growth or branching shoots are selected. Areas that form inflorescences are unsuitable.

When harvesting, green shoots are separated with a sharp jerk downward so that a section of last year's stem bark remains on them. The lower part is freed from foliage and treated with a root formation stimulator. The remaining leaves are thinned out so that after planting the semi-lignified cuttings in the greenhouse, they do not touch.

Favorable conditions for rooting are regular soil moisture, indicated by the condition of the leaves, and a temperature in the range of 18–22 °C.

Root

Bushes with a developed root system are dug up, exposing the roots. Sections of rhizomatous shoots are separated and cut into 20-centimeter cuttings with buds.

Before planting sections of branches, make and moisten furrows in the garden bed. The cuttings in an inclined position are covered with earth and watered again. Cover with film stretched over the arcs.After rooting of garden blueberries, the protective material is removed. In winter, they leave the crop in the same place, having previously taken care of insulation.

The root cutting method is used to propagate low-growing varieties that form underground shoots.

Breeding by layering

The method is used in late spring. Flexible healthy shoots, previously placed in a solution of a chemical root formation stimulator, are suitable for propagation.

After fitting, a shallow groove is dug, a branch is laid along it, and covered with earth. If you press the shoot only at the base, you will get one layer. With complete burial, several new plants may appear no sooner than after 2 years. After separation from the bush, the planting material is grown in greenhouse conditions for another 1–2 years before planting in the berry garden.

The method of propagating blueberries by layering is long and not the most effective, since the result is not guaranteed.

Seeds

From independently collected or purchased seeds, seedlings are grown at home. Cold stratification is preliminarily carried out. 3 months before planting, the seeds are placed in a container with damp coconut substrate or moss, the container is closed, and placed in the refrigerator.

Algorithm for growing blueberries from seeds:

1. An acidic substrate is poured into the container and moistened. Or they place rows of pre-soaked peat tablets.
2. Planting material is sown on the surface without deepening it. Sprinkle sand, peat or sawdust on top in a layer of no more than 2–3 mm. Cover with glass and place on the windowsill.
3. Monitor soil moisture. For watering use a spray bottle. Ventilate at least once a week.
4. The glass is removed 7–20 days after the first shoots appear.
5. In the three-leaf phase, blueberry seedlings require more nutrients.Each plant is transplanted into a separate glass or pot.

From spring to autumn, seedlings are kept outdoors in natural conditions. For the winter, they are brought into a closed, unheated room and insulated with covering material. Seedlings are planted in the garden two years after the seeds are planted.

Root shoots (partial bushes)

For propagation by partial bushes, young healthy blueberry specimens of low-growing varieties are used. The main condition is a developed root system that forms stolons. Growth zones located on the shoots form young shoots. To separate it from the mother plant, the blueberry bush is dug up. Separation occurs in spring or autumn. Planting in separate containers or directly to a permanent place is allowed.

Dividing the bush

The method is used for old plants for the purpose of rejuvenation. The bush is dug up, divided into parts, each of which includes several branches and a root of 5 cm. The resulting division is planted immediately in a permanent place. It begins to bear fruit in the fourth year.

Reproduction by radical pruning

Planting material is obtained by total pruning of the bush. The event is held in early spring. After removing the shoots, a double rate of mineral fertilizers is introduced under the roots, and the blueberries are covered with a 30-centimeter layer of sawdust.

A greenhouse is built over the resulting elevation, protecting the pruned bush from adverse weather conditions and maintaining moisture. On the new shoots that appear after 2 years, roots appear above the original root system on parts covered with sawdust. The structure is removed, young plants are separated from the mother bush, grown or planted in a garden bed.

Microclonal propagation of garden blueberries

The method related to vegetative propagation is used to improve the health of the crop and quickly propagate blueberries from a piece of biological tissue (meristem).

Growing stages:

1. The mother plant is selected for genetic or economic qualities.
2. Cut out a piece of trunk, bark, leaf plate. If the laboratory is faced with the task of obtaining a large number of cuttings in a short time, then the tips of the shoots are used.
3. Sterilized biomaterial is placed in a nutrient medium based on agar-agar with the addition of hormones, micro and macroelements. From one growing point, 5–9 shoots are obtained.
4. Next, they are separated with a scalpel in distilled water.
5. Prepare a fresh nutrient medium, different from the first in the ratio of hormones.
6. The root system of cuttings placed in sterile conditions begins to rapidly develop.
7. When the plant reaches the required parameters, the blueberries are transplanted into a greenhouse.

The advantages of microclonal propagation of blueberries include the absence of dependence on climatic conditions and the possibility of growing new varieties.

Peculiarities of garden blueberry propagation in different regions

Differences in climatic conditions affect planting, cultivation, and wintering. The methods and rules of reproduction by region are identical, but some nuances differ. In the harsh conditions of Siberia and the Urals, frost-resistant blueberry varieties are grown. Short summers and long winters require the use of greenhouses, greenhouses, and warm beds, the principle of which is based on the release of heat by compost embedded under the fertile layer.

Blueberries do not grow or reproduce in the south of Russia. In the North Caucasus, it is impossible to find acidic peat soils and fungal mycelium, which are necessary for the development, fruiting and reproduction of the crop.

In central Russia, meteorologists note sharp temperature rises, frosty winters, and thaws. The growing season for blueberries begins in April. At this time, planting is organized, greenhouses are opened, and seedlings, planted with seeds a year ago, are taken outside. At the end of October, the plants are prepared for wintering.