Can you grow blueberries in a 5 gallon bucket?
Written by
Benjamin Miller
Reviewed by
Prof. Samuel Fitzgerald, Ph.D.It is indeed possible to grow blueberries in a 5-gallon bucket it can be difficult! For seedlings, small containers will work, but the mature bushes need well-drained 20-gallon pots to allow room for root expansion. I once used 5-gallon buckets, and although the plants survived, they only produced a third as much fruit as the larger pots. You will find the roots cramped, and those types of containers will dry out much faster.
Soil Mix
- Use 50% peat moss, 30% pine bark, 20% perlite
- Test pH monthly, adjust with sulfur if above 5.5
- Avoid garden soil to prevent compaction
Watering
- Water 5-gallon buckets daily in summer
- Use drip irrigation with 1/2-gallon emitters
- Check moisture 2 inches deep before watering
Root Care
- Prune circling roots annually
- Repot every 2-3 years to refresh soil
- Avoid letting roots freeze in winter
Soil acidity does matter in containers. I add 1 cup of elemental sulfur to the media every year to maintain pH 4.5-5.5. Without this, my plants in 5-gallon pots yellowed rapidly, within months. You must use a test kit; it isn't worth guessing.
Drainage is essential to avoiding root rot. Drill 8-10 holes in the bottoms of buckets and place buckets on bricks. My first attempt did not work. Water pooled in the bucket and roots rotted. Solving that was adding two inches of gravel below the soil which did the trick.
Pruning balances a plant's growth while in a small pot. Prune each year by removing 30% of foliage, this reduces the plant's overall water demand. Focus on branches that are growing inwards. An overgrown bush in a 5-gallon container I had, after pruning aggressively, rebounded to produce berries in the early Summer again.
It is important to protect in the winter. Wrap buckets in bubble wrap or burlap in zones below zone 6. I lost two plants to frozen roots before insulating the pots. Move pots to protected places when it is extremely cold to get the benefits of being planted in the ground.
Read the full article: How to Grow Blueberries: 7 Essential Steps for Success
