Blueberry Bonus: variety description, planting, cultivation and care, storage with photo

America is the birthplace of the blackberry, where it is widely grown in industrial plantations and orchards. In the CIS countries, the demand for it is increasing every year. Even inexperienced gardeners strive to plant it. Bonus blueberries are perfect for them. The plant is unpretentious in care, gives sweet berries, has a lot of advantages. The bush belongs to the North American tall species. You should familiarize yourself in advance with the planting process, the selection of blueberry seedlings, and care.

Description and characteristics of blueberries Bonus

It is useful to familiarize yourself with information about the variety even for experienced gardeners.

1. Description of the blueberry variety Bonus says that the berry is one of the largest species, up to 3 centimeters.
2. Shoots grow up to 1.5 meters, 1.25 meters wide, the habit of the bush is sprawling, slightly raised.
3. The plant ripens in early August.
4. The fruits of large blueberries, up to 30 millimeters. Some are larger than Chandler, light bluish in color, round, with a pleasant taste. They have a wax coating, collected in tight brushes. The pulp of the berry is sweet, the peel is strong.
5. Transportation and storage possible for a long time, with refrigeration.
6. Blueberries can withstand severe frosts, but require shelter. In most regions of the CIS, for example, in the Moscow region, bushes are mulched with agronomic fiber, according to the principle of grapes, roses.

The variety is self-pollinated, but it is advisable to help him in this.

History of Creation

The species was bred at the University of Michigan, United States of America in 1978. It belongs to the northern varieties, American tall blueberries. Breeders focused on creating large fruits, and then on their taste. The berry competes with the Chandler variety.

Strengths and weaknesses of the variety

The plant suggests good and bad sides that will help you make a choice.

Resistance to diseases, pests Fruits contain a large amount of vitamins, antioxidants Withstands extreme frosts down to -35 Grow for yourself or for sale Berries are universal in processing

Pros of blueberries	Cons
The fruits are large	The fruits ripen unevenly
Easily tolerate transportation	2 weeks pass from the moment of coloring to saturation of the berries with taste
Intense sweet taste with pungent sourness	Medium growth rate
High fertility
	Low maintenance
	Widely used in landscape design

A sign of the suitability of blueberries for harvesting - detachment from the stalk without effort

Pick up time

Experienced summer residents advise planting blueberry seedlings in the fall, then the roots will fully form. There is a risk of freezing the bush, with the wrong shelter. In the spring, you can plant without fear, from mid-March. It is advisable to wait for warming, no frost at night.

Selection of site, soil

Variety Bonus loves light, well-drained soil containing enough organic matter and well ventilated. Suitable sandy soil, peat bogs, soil with a small leafy litter. The plant does not survive well in loamy soil. Blueberries most often grow in thickets, and high-quality, high-sugar yields require open areas with sunlight.

The acidity of the soil should be pH 3.5-4.8. If the level is low, peat, sulfur or acid ammonium can be added. The optimal concentration of acidity is further maintained by watering the bushes with water with citric, oxalic or acetic acid.

Elevated level is lowered with lime or wood ash. Due to the low acidity of the soil, this blueberry variety is affected by diseases, and at a high level, growth stops, the plant stops producing crops. Liming is carried out three times a year. Any manipulations with the ground are done 6 months before disembarkation.

Boarding process

2 or 3 year old blueberry cuttings are best for planting. A number of activities should be carried out in advance, in particular:

1. Measure the pH level of the soil. Make sure there is enough acidity.
2. Dig a hole 11 meter for each shrub, keeping a gap of 1.5-1.8 meters. If planting blueberries will be carried out in a trench way, their depth should be at least 60 centimeters. The optimal size between rows is 3 meters. Bushes should be planted from north to south.
3. If the groundwater is close to the ground, provide the plants with adequate drainage. Pour expanded clay on the bottom of the hole with a layer of 10 centimeters.
4. Place the container with planting material in a glass of water until the earth is soaked.
5. Fill the holes with water and wait until completely absorbed.
6. Plant young blueberry bushes in prepared recesses, spreading the root system horizontally, sprinkle with acidic soil. The most productive symbiosis is high-moor peat combined with pine needles, bark and cones in a 1:1 ratio, or peat with the addition of 10% sand.
7. Mulch the trunk circle of each blueberry bush with needles or rotted dust with peat by 10 centimeters.

Do not use fresh sawdust, as the risk of nitrogen starvation increases.

Care for blueberries

Bonus blueberry variety does not involve much effort in care, the main thing is to carry it out correctly. It is necessary to weed the earth with high quality, destroy weeds, loosen the soil to provide oxygen access.

Caring for blueberry bushes consists of the following measures:

• watering - do not allow the earth to dry out, it should always be wet;
• cutting - remove diseased, overdried and broken branches in late autumn;
• top dressing - fertilize the soil from the first days of planting, using mineral or organic top dressing.

Garden blueberries with proper care give a good harvest of he althy berries.

Water and fertilize

Water often, as the soil quickly dehydrates. It is necessary to make a bucket of water for each bush, about 4 times a week, depending on weather conditions and humidity levels. If it is hot outside, cool the bushes by spraying in the evening.

Feed blueberry bushes 3 times a year: at the beginning of the growing season, at bud break and after picking berries.

1. In March, give preference to nitrogen fertilizers 50%.
2. When buds open, pour ¼ of nitrogen, ammonium sulfate 35-40 grams per bush or ammonium nitrate 25-30 grams per bush, superphosphate 50-60 grams.
3. After the appearance of berries, cancel nitrogen fertilizers, replace them with calcium. It makes blueberries firmer and larger.
4. After fruiting, apply potassium sulfate and phosphorus 30-40 grams per bush.

You can not feed the berries with organic matter - manure, compost, chicken droppings. They have a negative effect on the tender rhizome.

Shaping a bush

Pruning bushes at 3-4 years of their life, up to a height of 40-45 centimeters.You need to cut drooping shoots at an angle of 50 degrees. Affect to a greater extent the periphery of the crown, since the plants belong to a semi-spreading species. Leave the he althiest strong shoots, more than half a meter high, cut the rest next spring.

Preparing for winter

In November, cover the bushes with spruce branches, burlap, spunbond, bending the branches to the soil. It is undesirable to use a polyethylene film, it does not allow air to pass through. In the spring, when there are no night frosts and the temperature rises to above zero, you can remove the mulch.

Protection from diseases and pests

Blueberry Bonus is famous for its increased resistance to pests and diseases, but for prevention it is desirable to treat with fungicides.

1. Make 3 sprays before flowering 1 week apart and the same amount after harvest.
2. In March and November, treat the plants with Rovral 0.1-0.2% or Bordeaux liquid.

If symptoms of disease or beetle damage are found on the bush, treat it with the above means, strictly following the annotation.

Berry breeding

A variety with a developed root system is widely bred by dividing the bush. Its parts are used as planting material. The selected shrub is dug out of the ground, suitable shoots with the required number of roots are carefully separated. Their length should be at least 5-7 centimeters on each seedling. If necessary, use a knife or secateurs.

Harvesting and storage of crops

Blueberry bushes bear fruit from mid-July. Large berries are easily collected, do not fall off on their own. For convenience, a comb is used. You can store pure blueberries in the refrigerator, usually no longer than 2 weeks in glass containers.Fresh blueberries can be used to create fruit purees, desserts.

Frozen fruit preserves all useful components. Washing blueberries before freezing is not worth it; the skin will become too stiff. When candied or dried, the shelf life is no longer than 1 year.

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