Growing Blueberries in the Desert

Q.
Can we grow blueberries here? How difficult is it?

Yes, these blueberries were grown in Las Vegas. But at what cost?

A.
It is one of those questions that “we can but with what degree of difficulty?”.
I am a lazy gardener and don’t like to put a lot of effort into “out of place”
plants. I have a saying, the more out of place a plant is in its needs, the
more time, money, and effort we have to put into it to get it to grow or
produce. Take mangoes for instance. We can grow them here but what would be our
“cost” of production?

Yellowing of the plant leaves is just one of the hurdles that must be overcome when growing blueberries in the desert.

            We know that blueberries prefer
soils that are lower in pH (about 4.5) and don’t care much for the highly alkaline
soils (closer to 8.0) of the desert. That’s a 1000 percent difference! Soil pH
is our first hurdle to overcome. Are we willing to monitor the soil and amend
it year after year? Use very fine ground (injectable) soil sulfur, not granular
or “flowers” of sulfur for lowering the soil pH.

I didnt get a picture of blueberries growing in a container per se but if you look closely you can see that this blueberry is growing in a container in Las Vegas. More than a curiosity? I wouldn’t go into commercial blueberry production in the Mojave Desert.

Use containers so the soil is “contained”
and easier to amend. Plants need good drainage. Use pine bark for good drainage
and amend it with a very small amount of sand for stability. Blueberries have
shallow roots so containers should be shallow; 10 inches deep. Place plants on
the east side of a building so they get shade in the afternoon.  Southern highbush blueberries can tolerate the
heat but not direct sun. Blueberries need at least 6 hours of full sun every
day.

            If you are willing to monitor and
amend the soil annually (and grow blueberries as a cuiosity) then grow at least one of the Southern Highbush
blueberries such as ‘Reveill’, ‘Sharpblue’, ‘Misty’, or ‘Southmoon’. Many of
the Southern Highbush blueberries are self-fruitful but you may get larger
berries and increased production if they can cross pollinate. But stay away from commercial production unless you do it (and is cost effective) in a greenhouse.

            Apply fertilizer once every two
months when they are growing to get good crops. The biggest hurdle to overcome
when grown in our climate and soil is the soil pH.