Blueberry Spartan: variety description and characteristics, planting and care, reviews with photos

Spartan blueberry is one of the favorite crops of the inhabitants of the CIS. A variety of juicy berries is easily grown in a private garden or industrial plantations. To safely plant a crop, to achieve a bountiful harvest, you should familiarize yourself with all the nuances.

History of selection

Blueberries became popular in 1977, they were brought to the USA. During the development of the variety, wild varieties of blueberry bushes were used, growing in the swampy regions of North America. In the countries of the former USSR, the variety has gained recognition since the late 1990s.Blueberries Spartan fell in love with gardeners because of the precocity, rich taste of fruits and unpretentious care.

Pros and cons of blueberries Spartan

The blueberry variety has a number of positive and negative sides. They will help you make the right choice.

Rich, sweet taste Hub susceptibility to excessive moisture The need for soil acidification Comes into yield for a long time

	Berries are easily transported
	Self-fertile variety
	High bush resistance to diseases

Characteristics and description of blueberries

Distinctive features of the variety:

• pale bluish color;
• round berries;
• average weight is 1.6 grams;
• fruit size - from 16 to 18 mm;
• pulp is dense.

Blueberries have a pleasant taste, smell good. Tasters rated the taste of the fruit at 4.3 points.

Shrub and root system

Spartan blueberry is a deciduous perennial shrub growing up to 1.5-2 meters high. Shoots are strong, upright. The leaves are simple, elongated, dark green in color. The young foliage is bright green, turning red in September. The shrub acts as a garden decoration in autumn.

The rhizome is branched, fibrous, lies 40 cm deep. The root system grows when the earth warms up and until the end of spring. After, its growth stops, resumes after the onset of autumn. When the temperature drops, the roots stop growing. Flowers form at the ends of branches. The buds are located along the entire length of the shoots. Each produces 5-10 flowers.

Crop ripening and fruiting blueberries Spartan

Blueberries begin to bear fruit within 3 weeks, from mid-July. During the ripening period, the crop is harvested in 3 approaches. You can remove the berries from the bushes when they become fully colored. The fruits collected in 1-2 approach have the best presentation, they are the largest. From one bush you can pick about 6 kilograms. The first berries are harvested at 3-4 years of life of the crop, a stable harvest is observed at 6-8 years. The plant blooms rather late.

How to use blueberries

Spartan blueberries can be used in a universal way, fruits are grown from it for the purpose of fresh consumption or for harvesting for the winter. Delicious vitamin teas are obtained from berries, they are added to baking. Due to its beneficial properties, blueberries are added to medicinal decoctions, mixtures and infusions are prepared. The rich taste is not lost after freezing or heat treatment. The aroma remains unforgettable, sweet and fresh.

Hub resistance to sub-zero temperatures and drought

The berries do not dry out, withstand the scorching sun, short-lived cyclones. The bush can normally exist at an air temperature not lower than -30 degrees. If the frosts are long, it is better to cover it for the winter. The culture does not like drought, it can withstand only for short periods.

Resist to diseases and pests

Blueberries are famous for their powerful immunity to moniliosis, the death of branches. If preventive treatments are not carried out, there is a high risk of attack by harmful insects on the variety.

Blueberry planting algorithm

Before planting blueberries, they prepare the seedling, pit, fertilize the soil. Work must be done within a certain time, take into account a suitable place. After planting, mulch the area around the shrub. The variety does not imply special landing technologies, it is only important to follow the rules.

Recommended dates for planting

It is better to do planting work in March, before sap flow. Then the seedling will have time to take root in frost. In the South, you can plant a crop in the fall, if the air temperature is from 10 degrees Celsius. In the northern regions and the middle lane, it is advisable to plant a berry in the spring, as severe frosts will destroy a young seedling.

Determining where to plant blueberries

In order to continue to harvest 6 kg from a bush, you need to take care of choosing the right place in the plot.

1. The site should not be low, clayey, swampy. Constant stagnation of water at the rhizome is fraught with inhibition of their growth, deterioration in the taste of fruits.
2. The place should be well lit, blueberries love the sun's rays. Then the berries will be more delicious. It is also possible to plant a bush in partial shade, but its growth will slow down, yields will decrease, the concentration of sugars in berries will decrease.
3. Blueberries do not like to "live" in places where other cultures used to live. Bushes may die or grow poorly.
4. The landing site should be well protected from drafts, winds are especially dangerous in winter.

Don't plant blueberries next to trees, they will block the sun's rays.

Preparation of soil and pits

Blueberries prefer to grow in humus-rich, light soils with a pH level of 3.5-4.5. Between the bushes there should be a distance of 1.5 meters, and between rows - 2.5-3. For industrial purposes, a different scheme for growing crops is practiced. The distance between shrubs is maintained 1 meter, and 2.5 between the beds.

The well is filled with an organic mixture consisting of 30% humus, 30% high-moor peat. The rest includes rotted litter of pine forest, needles, bark, river sand.Planting material is taken out of the container, the rhizome is straightened. It should not be gathered into a ball, bent.

The seedling is immersed in the ground 2-3 cm deeper than it grew in the container, watered. The trunk circumference is mulched with peat, rotted bark, and needles. The layer creates nutrition for mycorrhiza, the culture itself, keeps the earth from drying out loose, moist.

Preparing seedlings

When choosing a seedling, you should pay attention to 2-year-old specimens with a closed rhizome. Such a seedling is located in a pot. It is convenient to buy them, because there is no need to rush with planting work. If planting is delayed, water the seedlings with settled water.

Before planting, prepare the material as follows:

• put in a clay mash for 15 minutes;
• remove blueberries from the container, inspect the rhizome, spread it with your hands.

If you ignore the last point, the roots may not break through a dense earthen ball and die.

Technology and landing pattern

Spartan blueberries should be grown according to the following rules:

• dig a hole in the plot with a diameter of 60 and 50 cm deep;
• pour a drainage layer of crushed stone and pebbles on the bottom of the hole, put the finished substrate on top to form a mound;
• carefully plant a seedling on a hill, spreading the root system and covering it with earth;

Pour planting material, cover the ground with peat, straw and bark with a layer of 5 cm.

How to care for a blueberry bush

Caring for blueberries does not require much effort. It consists of the following aspects:

• timely watering;
• fertilizer;
• cropping;
• weeding;
• mulching.

The bush also needs shelter for the winter.

Water and fertilize

Blueberries love moisture, require constant watering. Irrigation is especially important in the summer, when the ripening of berries begins, flower buds are laid. If the culture feels a lack of moisture, the crop will turn out to be poor. Water the shrubs 2 times a week. For 1 adult plant, 1 bucket of water is required, in the morning and after sunset. In the heat, you can spray the leaves with a spray bottle, but when the sun goes down.

The bush easily takes root in scarce areas, gives a lot of fruit. It is advisable to feed the culture with mineral supplements. You can buy them ready-made, complex fertilizers for coniferous, heather and rhododendrons are suitable. It is advisable to feed blueberries in the spring, before the buds swell.

With each year of the life of the bush, increase the number of tablespoons by 1. Two-year-old blueberries are fertilized with 1 tbsp. recharge, 5-year-old - 8, 6-year-old - 16. The variety does not need fertilizer with manure, humus, chicken feces.

Loosening and mulching blueberry beds

Mulching and regular loosening of the earth is required for bushes to prosper. The mulch layer should be 2-10 cm. Spruce branches, straw, rotted leaves, sawdust are taken. After the procedure, young bushes grow slowly, as living bacteria decompose a fresh layer of mulch, pull useful nitrogen components from the soil. This problem can be avoided by adding additional nitrogen supplements.

Loosen carefully so as not to damage the rhizome. Often weeding the circle is not worth it, this will help dry out the bush.

Shape pruning

Young blueberry bushes under 4 years old require sanitary pruning. Plants older than 3-4 years can be pruned for the purpose of formation. The bushes have a sprawling shape, they begin to excise the lateral branches that have hung, the central shoots. It is important to form the maximum number of axial branches. The force of pruning affects the nature of fertility.The weaker it is, the greater the harvest, but the berries will be small. Otherwise, the fruits will grow large, but in smaller quantities.

During manipulation, follow these rules.

1. Weak pruning consists in cutting off dead and damaged branches, old shoots that do not give new growth. Such pruning involves the removal of those branches that are near the surface of the ground.
2. After 4 years of life, every year remove spreading branches near the surface of the earth. It is necessary to leave erect shoots.

Avoid bush thickening by removing old and damaged shoots.

Prophylactic treatment of blueberries

Preventive pruning of bushes involves the removal of overgrowth at the bottom. Shoots older than 6 years are also excised, leaving 3 to 5 of the largest specimens.Preventive pruning stimulates growth, increases yield. The event takes place in November or spring before the growing season.

Wintering Bush

With proper planting, care for blueberries, they will endure the winter well. If we are talking about the Moscow region, the plant does not need shelter. In autumn, 100 g of superphosphate is added under it. Young seedlings are insulated with agronomic fiber and needles. A layer of snow is thrown on top.

What to do with the harvest

The blueberry crop is harvested by hand or mechanically. Berries are frozen, dried or processed into blanks. Due to the dense skin, the variety tolerates long-term storage well. The fruits are kept in the refrigerator.

Reviews about the variety

Reviews from gardeners about the blueberry variety Spartan are positive. They indicate that the variety is worthy of cultivation, it is easy to care for it, the bushes do not freeze in the climatic conditions of the winters of the CIS countries.

Ekaterina Vasilievna, 57 years old, Samara

I learned about Spartan blueberries at one of the country forums, I decided to try it for myself. A couple of years had to tinker, she does not like frost, requires attention and care, in other matters, like everyone else. But then my worries paid off for me with a generous harvest. I advise everyone to get acquainted with this interesting variety.

Dima, 32 years old Sverdlovsk region

It so happened that my parents gave me a dacha, where, among other things, blueberries of the Spartan variety grew. I did not notice any special problems in care, the variety is responsive to fertilizer, loves heat. The harvest is good, I like the taste, in general, everything is quite satisfactory.

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