Growing Blueberries indoors all Winter What?
Yes I did say Indoors. I love blueberries, and as I was planting my bushes that I purchased on clearance today at Walmart, I got to thinking, is it even possible to grow these delicious treats indoors all winter? So I thought I would check it out and do my research, so naturally went to my garden encyclopedia, and then my local lady who is our horticulture society GURU, and low and behold, OH YES YOU CAN. Follow me to see how it is done.
The things you will need.
A window sill that gets at least 5-6 hours of sunlight per day, or a sun lamp that you can compensate for the loss of time in sun.
Water, and with heat on in houses during the winter, they may dry out faster than your typical outdoor growing so check often.
Blueberries enjoy acidic soil, so don't use regular potting mix if you try to grow them in containers. Add peat moss or sulfur to the container soil to make it more acidic. A 50-50 mix of peat moss and soil is best. I tend to add a handful of sandbox sand to my soil to help with drainage.
The Plant. A dwarf variety is best for space limitations. Unless you have a patio window and want an 8 ft Blueberry plant in front of it, lol. The Top Hat variety is ideal as they only grow up to 24" high and can tolerate warm climate of the indoors all winter. Make sure that the plant is of a variety that is accustomed to growing in warmer climates. You may need to order from a Nursery that is in a warmer zone. The Top Hat dwarf does not require a pollinator but it sure helps with the abundance of the fruits. But you will still have fruits.
The Pot must be large enough to accommodate the root system I would suggest a 20" should be plenty, and have many drainage holes, but adding the sand will certainly help.
Plant your bush in you pot, as you would any other plant. There you have it. On the colder nights you should move the bush away from the window ensuring you do not let it get a frost or freeze and place back in the sunny spot by morning.
I hope this will encourage you to give it a try, I sure plan to this winter. I will do a follow up post when it is in bloom over the winter and then when it has produced fruit. Stay tuned this winter. Have any of you ever grown a blueberry in your home? Share.
Happy Trails
Image Sources:
https://www.aliexpress.com/popular/indoor-blueberry-plant.html
wow that's cool. I wonder when in the winter you will get the blueberries. We have a lime tree that we put outside for the summer and bring it inside for the winter. It always fruits in December around Christmas.
cool I started a lemon tree once and it was going good until I went on vacation, then the caretaker neglected to water it.
I would definitely try this if I had a place to put the pots.
One of my favorite fruit...thank you for sharing information👍🏻😀
I never heard of that before
Interesting! I might have to try this, but I'll have to figure out a good spot for it.
I've had such trouble growing blueberries outside in my area lol maybe I should give it a try indoors! Great info!
Yumm, fresh blueberries all winter!?!? 😯
That is a great idea. Didn't know that would work.
Great idea! I tried growing green peppers inside on my window sill in winter. That worked fine, but the harvest only consisted of two peppers.
Who would of thought. I will try this next winter, thanks!