Tall blueberry - a guest from America

Tasty and healthy - blueberry tall

Today it is difficult to find a person who is not familiar with black berries, in appearance resembling blueberries. They came to our country from distant America. It is there that for a very long time on an industrial basis a tall blueberry is bred and grown.

How it all began?

Originally it was a wild berry bushes. His cultivation began at the end of the century before last. The first to start working with blueberries was Frederick Covill, an American botanist. He chose the most productive and large-fruited forms of wild shrubs and conducted breeding work with them. First appeared varieties "Brooks" and "Russell". Then Elizabeth White began to take part in this work. It was on her farm that seedlings were grown. The new, obtained from her grades, were "Pioneer" and "Cabot" - these were hybrids of the first generation. That's how the first tall blueberry appeared. Dr. Covill was released in the production of 18 varieties of this unique in its properties of berries. They occupied all the industrial areas in America in 1949.

Then the selection work was headed by J. Darrow, and by 1965 many experimental stations, and even private gardeners, had participated in this. Everyone contributed to the improvement of blueberry varieties. Conquering America, tall blueberries began their journey further. Her experimental cultivation in Europe began in 1923. In 1964, a special group was established under the International Society of Gardeners, which dealt with the issues of breeding these berries in European countries. In the 70s, modern varieties appeared, such as "Blyukrop", "Bluray", "Collins" and many others, which are relevant today.

In our country, the cultivation of blueberries was started in 1964 in the Main Botanical Garden. Currently, more than 100 hectares of land are given for this berry and its planting is increasing every year.

Cultivation at home

Today, such a delicious and useful berry is no surprise. It is almost every gardener and gardener. You can buy blueberry seedlings in the Main Botanical Garden or in private nurseries. For it, the most suitable are peat-sandy or loamy soils. In addition, they must be fertile and well drained, so also their acidity should be within the pH range 3.5-4.5. If the soil in your garden does not meet these requirements, it is recommended to plant the seedlings in pre-prepared and filled with sour peat pits. In the future, the bushes should be watered with acidified (vinegar or citric acid) water.

Tall blueberry refers to cross-pollinated plants, so for good tying of berries you need to plant a number of several simultaneously flowering varieties. The plant enters the fruiting phase for the third or fourth year. By six years, with proper care, gives up to 5 kg of berries from one bush. This is a very promising berry, especially for Polissya and forest-steppe areas. It is characterized by good winter hardiness, good resistance to pests and diseases, and with proper care can grow in one place up to 90 years.