Blueberry "Northland": description and cultivation of the variety

The unique northern nature gave us a blueberry berry. Its value to the gardener lies in its universality: in addition to tasty and healthy berries, the plant can be used for decorative purposes and for landscape design.

Description of the variety

Blueberries "Northland" refers to undersized, up to 120 cm, early and frost-resistant varieties recommended for cultivation on plantations. The yield from the bush can reach 8 kg, an average of 4.5 kg.

Bush

With a small height it differs in density and spreading of direct shoots. It looks spectacular during the warm season: in the spring the bush is decorated with soft pink buds and light green leaves, in summer it is densely covered with blue berries, and in the fall small leaves are painted in bright red. Blueberry "Northland" according to the description of the variety and reviews of gardeners has been successfully used for alpine slides and hedges, where it is safely adjacent to decorative coniferous plants.

Berry

Fruits are blue, medium size, fairly dense. Possess sweet taste, can be stored for a long time. Suitable for industrial processing and cooking homemade jams, preserves, compotes.

Growing tips and tricks

Blueberry seedlings are sold at the age of two, with a shoot length of 35-50 cm and a closed root system. This form of pre-sale preparation allows you to achieve optimum survival. The plant prefers a well-lit, closed from the drafts places. In the shade of fruit trees, a berry cannot gain enough sugar, so their neighborhood is undesirable.

The acidity of the soil should be at a level of 3.5-4 pH, it can be increased by the addition of acids: acetic, citric or oxalic.

Landing

The ideal time is considered early spring, so a young bush will have time to get as strong as possible before the winter cold. Although landing is possible in the summer and early in the fall.

Holes for planting dig at a distance of 150-160 cm. Seedlings are buried flush with the earthy clod, straightening the roots. For delicate leveling of the roots before planting, you can put them briefly in the water.

Growing blueberries on alkaline (clay, calcareous) soils, apply this method of planting:

• they dig a deeper and wider hole, 60-65 cm deep and wide, drain the bottom with a layer of gravel, sand;
• the landing hole is filled with a mixture of peat, sand, pine needles and sawdust;
• In this mixture they place an earthy seedling sapling, fill it with mulch on top.

After planting, the bush is watered with water with the addition of citric acid - 40 g per 10 l.

Care

When the Northland blueberries successfully underwent the planting procedure, it was time to provide them with good care, which consists of loosening, watering, feeding and pruning.

Loosening the soil is carried out regularly, but not deeper than 10 cm, as it is possible to damage the roots.

Watered at least twice a month. During the flowering and ripening of berries, watering increases. In case of heat and drought, it is recommended to irrigate the leaves of the shrub with warm water in the evening.

Although the berry grows well on scanty soils, top dressing. Mineral fertilizers are applied twice in spring: the first time before the kidneys swell, the second - after 1.5 months. The composition of the fertilizer is selected, focusing on the appearance of foliage:

• when it is yellowing and slowing down growth, nitrogen is introduced;
• redness of the leaves indicates a lack of phosphorus;
• death of young shoots - potassium.

Pruning held in early spring. For sanitary purposes, remove the dead, diseased and lying on the ground branches. The peculiarity of the Northland variety is that the bush maintains its optimal shape in a natural way, without forming too many shoots. Fruit buds on the formed bushes over two years old are practically not removed.

To increase the yield pruned shoots over seven years. Pruning branches of the age of five allows you to enlarge the berries.

Protection against diseases and pests

On the roots and in the soil around the bush live microorganisms - symbionts, giving the plant additional protection. For their effective work, the soil must be regularly loosened and removed weeds.

Fungal diseases affect various parts of the bush: branches, berries, leaves. In this case, all damaged branches are cut and burned. Plants are treated with fungicides. Euparin and Topsin are most effective. In the spring and autumn for the prevention of spraying Bordeaux fluid spraying. Of the harmful insects for blueberries dangerous pine silkworm, earwig, shchitovka, aphid. Pests are removed manually, with the help of a ladybug (this is the natural enemy of the silkworm and aphids) or with the help of insecticides.

In order for the birds not to devour the berries, strips of shiny and rustling polymer film are tied onto the bushes.

Advantages and disadvantages of Northland Blueberry

The variety has the following advantages:

• high yield;
• early ripening of fruits;
• high quality and sugar content of berries;
• unpretentiousness;
• decorative

In this case, the disadvantages include some difficulties that a gardener will experience:

• when plants are infected with viruses or fungi, sometimes it is necessary to remove and burn the bush entirely;
• watering the plant, it is necessary to maintain a balance between well-moistened, but not flooded soil;
• for planting berries must be closed from the wind and drafts, a well-lit place with acidic soil and not occupied by fruit trees - to meet all these conditions is difficult in a small area.

A worthy harvest of healthy and tasty berries will be a reward for patience and attention to the gardener, who decided to plant Northland blueberries on his plot.