🫐 Sunshine Blueberries | The Complete Guide to Growing and Caring
📋 Quick summary - everything you need to know at a glance
Full sun/partial shade
6+ hours a day
Medium-multiple
Maintain constant humidity
Acidic! pH 4.5-5.5
Important for success!
medium
Requires attention to acidity
June-July
Gradual maturation
-20°C to +40°C
Suitable for the whole country!
🌱 Introducing Sunshine Blueberries
Naming and identification
- Hebrew name: Sunshine blueberries
- Scientific name: Vaccinium corymbosum (Southern Highbush)
- Common names: Sunshine Blueberry, Blueberry, Blueberry
- Family: Ericaceae
- Type: Southern Highbush
Origin and background
Blueberries originate from North America . The Sunshine variety was developed specifically for warm areas with few cold spells , making it perfect for Israel!
Why Sunshine?
- 🌡️ Heat and cold resistant: from -20 to +40°C!
- ❄️ Does not require cold storage: yields throughout the country
- 📦 Compact: Perfect for a flowerpot and balcony
- 🫐 Gradual ripening: daily picking over two months!
- 🏥 Superfood: Loaded with Antioxidants
- 🎨 Beautiful: blue-green foliage, pink blooms
Characteristics
- Height: 1-1.5 meters
- Growth: Compact and dense
- Leaves: bluish-green
- Flowers: White-pink, bell-shaped
💪 Why are blueberries a superfood?
Blueberries are considered one of the healthiest foods in the world!
Antioxidants
The highest amount among fruits!
Vitamin C
Strengthening the immune system
Vitamin K
Bone health
Anthocyanins
Heart health
Polyphenols
Brain function
Dietary fiber
Low in calories!
🎨 Additional blueberry varieties for Israel
Alongside Sunshine, there are other varieties that are suitable for growing in Israel:
⭐ Sunshine - Recommended!
Heat and cold resistant, compact, gradual ripening. The easiest and most convenient variety for home growing!
🗓️ Harvest: June-July | Yield: ~2.5 kg
🌅 Biloxi
0 cold spots! Suitable for extremely hot areas. Vigorous growth, early fruiting.
🗓️ Harvest: April-June
🦣 Titan
Large shrub (1.5-2 m), large fruit, excellent flavor. Vigorous growth.
🗓️ Harvest: June-July
🏆 O'Neal
Extremely high yield (~4 kg!), excellent taste. Requires more cold.
🗓️ Harvest: July-August
🌸 Rebel
Early variety, fruits in May! Medium-sized shrub.
🗓️ Harvest: May (early!)
💜 Sharpblue
A classic southern variety, an excellent pollinator for other varieties.
🗓️ Harvest: June
🪴 Growing in a pot - the recommended way in Israel!
Because of the basic soil in the country, growing in pots is the ideal solution for blueberries.
🏺 Flowerpot size
- Years 1-2: 25 liter pot
- From age 3+: move to 50-70 liters
- Ensure excellent drainage!
- A plastic pot is better (retains moisture).
🌱 Planting bed
- Peat Moss - Acidic base
- Or coconut + peat
- Add perlite for drainage
- You can add pine needles.
⚗️ Missed
- Add a liquid acid-loving fertilizer to the substrate.
- or dilute sulfuric acid
- Check pH every month or two.
- Maintain pH 4.5-5.5
📍 Location
- Full sun (6+ hours)
- In summer: light afternoon shade
- Balcony, roof, garden
- Protected from strong winds
🌤️ Detailed growing conditions
☀️ Light
Light requirement: Full sun for sweet, abundant fruit!
- ✅ Ideal: 6-8 hours of direct sunlight
- ⚡ Minimum: 4 hours (less fruit)
- ☀️ In the Israeli summer: light afternoon shading is recommended
- 🏠 Balcony: South or West facing
💧 Irrigation - critical!
Key principle: Blueberries like constant moisture but not flooding!
Watering in a pot:
- Summer: Every day or two
- Winter: Once a week (as needed)
- Check moisture in the top 5 cm.
- Water until water comes out of the drain.
🌡️ Temperature
The big advantage of Sun Shine: resistant to an extremely wide temperature range!
Up to minus 20°C!
Up to 40°C!
15-30°C
🧪 Fertilizer - for plants that love acidity
Important! Blueberries need a special fertilizer for acid-loving plants .
Recommended types of fertilizer:
- ✅ Ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) - Excellent!
- ✅ Fertilizer for azaleas / rhododendrons
- ✅ Fertilizer for acid-loving plants
- ✅ Organic fertilizers: blood and gram, coffee grounds
- ❌ Do not use fertilizers with nitrates!
Fertilization schedule:
Granular fertilizer before flowering
Fertilizer for recovery
Slow-release fertilizer (Osmocote)
🐝 Pollination
Blueberries are self-fertile , but...
Why is it worth growing 2 varieties?
- 🫐 Larger fruits
- 📦 Bigger harvest
- 🗓️ Longer harvesting season
- 🐝 Bees pass through the bushes and pollinate
Recommended pairs:
- Sunshine + Biloxi - a winning combination!
- Sunshine + Sharpblue
- Titan + Rebel
✂️ Pruning
Years 1-3: Minimal pruning
- Remove only broken or diseased branches.
- Recommended: Remove flowers in the first or second year! Let the bush establish itself.
From age 4+: Annual pruning
- 📅 When: Late winter/early spring (before new growth)
- ✂️ Remove dead, diseased or weak branches
- ✂️ Thin out branches that cross in the center (ventilation!)
- ✂️ Remove old branches (gray-whitish) - they are less productive
- ✂️ Remove about 20% of old branches each year
🫐 Fruits and picking
📅 Harvest season
- Sunshine: June-July
- Duration: About two months!
- Ripening: Gradual in waves
- Daily picking of ripe fruits
🎯 How do you know if the fruit is ripe?
- Solid blue-black color
- The fruit is easily torn off.
- There is no green at the base of the fruit.
- Slightly soft texture but not too soft
🐦 Bird protection!
Birds love blueberries! Cover the bush with netting when the berries start to ripen.
📦 Storage
- In the refrigerator: up to two weeks (do not wash before storing!)
- Frozen: Up to a year!
- Can be dried or made into jams
🔧 Common problems and solutions
🟡 Yellow leaves
Problem #1! A sign of too high pH.
solution:
- Check and adjust the pH.
- Add sulfur or acid
- Water with rainwater.
🍂 No fruit / low yield
Possible reasons:
- Too young shrub (2-3 years)
- Lack of pollination
- Excessive pruning
- Lack of sun
- pH is incorrect
🥀 Brown leaf edges
Possible reasons:
- Excess salts in water/fertilizer
- Drought or flooding
- Sunburn
🍂 Weak growth
Check:
- Soil pH (must be 4.5-5.5!)
- Drainage - Rotten roots?
- Lack of light
- Inappropriate fertilization
🐛 Pests
Sunshine blueberries are relatively hardy , but be aware of:
The main problem!
Solution: Safety net
Lumps on branches.
Solution: wintergreen oil, potassium soap
Thin spider webs.
Solution: Increase moisture, soap
✅ Safety and pets
Great news! Blueberries are completely safe for pets!
Dogs
Safe! Even healthy!
Cats
Safe (in small quantities)
children
Safe and healthy!
📅 Sunshine Blueberry Growing Calendar
- Annual pruning
- pH and acidification test
- Planting new seedlings
- rash!
- Spring fertilization
- Increased irrigation
- Fruit development
- Bird net
- Regular watering
- harvest!
- Fertilizing after harvesting
- Shading in extreme heat
- Reducing irrigation
- pH test
- Mulch
- rest
- Slow-release fertilizer
- Frost protection (if needed)
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
It's almost always a pH problem ! The soil is not acidic enough. Check the pH and adjust.
Year 1-2: It is recommended to remove flowers (to allow the bush to establish itself).
Year 3+: Growing crop. Year 5+: Full crop (~2.5 kg).
Sunshine is extremely compact , does not require cold storage, is heat and cold resistant, and ripens gradually. Perfect for home growing!
Best: Rainwater. If not available, add a tablespoon of vinegar to every 10 liters of water , or use citric acid.
📊 Summary table
| category | Details |
|---|---|
| ☀️ Light | Full sun (6+ hours) |
| 💧 Irrigation | Medium-multiple, constant humidity |
| ⚗️ Soil/pH | Acidic! pH 4.5-5.5 (critical!) |
| 🌡️ Temperature | -20°C to +40°C |
| 📏 Size | 1-1.5 meters (compact) |
| 🪴 Recommended growth | In a 50-70 liter pot |
| 🫐 Harvest | June-July (about two months) |
| 📦 Crop | ~2.5 kg per mature bush |
| 📊 Difficulty level | Medium (requires attention to pH) |
| ✅ Safety | Safe for humans and pets |
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The guide was written by the Deco Garden team of experts.