Fruits

Thinking of planting blueberries next to your blackberry bush set this time of year ? These two plants do share interchangeable growing conditions , but does that make them skilful garden companions ? In this article , gardening expert Melissa Strauss looks at if these two industrial plant should be plant next to each other or if there are better options in your garden .

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blueberries and blackberies

blackberry and blueberry make a great pair when it comes to pies and fruit salads . Both fruits bear a long ton of fibre and a host of other nutrient that are vital to a healthy diet . Both plants are well-to-do to grow and can produce a great yield of fruit when given the good environment .

Blackberriesare the most roughage - fertile fruit you may eat , intend that for the act of calories they moderate , they also contain more fiber than any other fruit or veg . They have many other benefit outside of taste great .

Blueberriesare powerful antioxidant agents and are a garden favorite . They are not only great for consumption , but their shrubs have beautiful snowy peak that flower while in time of year .

Close-up of ripening blackberries on a bush, in a garden, against a blurred green background. Blackberry is a deciduous shrub with spiny shoots and compound leaves consisting of many elliptical green leaves with serrated edges. Berries are a collection of small drupes that form a bunch. Fully ripe berries are glossy and black, while unripe berries are red.

The two berry have a great deal of law of similarity where nutrition is concerned . This realize one curiosity , do these two plants have interchangeable growth habits , and how will they perform if planted together in the garden ? Let ’s talk about whether blueberries and blackberries make good companions in the garden .

The Quick Answer

blueberry bush and blackberries make idealistic companion in the garden . blueberry will withdraw pollinator and other good insect to the garden , which do good blackberry . They have similar pauperism , so they will not compete for food , meaning a hefty crop of both berries .

The Detailed Answer

Before we look at each works on an individual basis , let ’s let the cat out of the bag a little snatch about thepractice of companion planting . When we peach about planting two or more crops together for the welfare of one or all of the plants , we are talking about companion planting .

This ancient farming recitation pairs plants together in the hopes that they will not only be compatible in the garden , but they might also provide excess benefits to one another .

Some of the benefits of companion planting include :

Close-up of ripe blueberries on a branch in a sunny garden. The plant has thin stems covered with small elliptical leaves of bright green color. The berries are small, round, grow in clusters. They have a blue color, smooth skin, covered with a grayish-white dusty coating.

The identification number one rationality that many gardeners take this practice is to save outer space in the garden . plant two dissimilar crops in the same place allows you to preserve more space for other plants , so you may double your gardening area .

Some plant life benefit others by providing them with a particular environmental motive , such as support for vining plants and protection from intense sun or wind .

Some plants help to protect others from insects that seek to destroy your harvest time by masking their odor . Marigolds are excellent for this role .

Close-up of a gardener’s hand watering lush blackberry bushes with a red hose in a sunny garden. The bushes have many leaflets of bright green color with jagged edges, and ripe and unripe berries in black and red.

Certain plants are highly attractive to pollinators . include these industrial plant in your vegetable garden will draw in pollinators , typically sticking around and cross-pollinate your vegetable plants , conduct to a swell harvest . Lavender serves a threefold purpose by mask scent and deterring harmful insects , while it is particularly attractive to bees .

sure flora , like bean and pea , are called nitrogen - repairer . They depict atomic number 7 from the air and enrich the filth with that nitrogen , gain it a better shoes for other plants .

Some plant life are even known to enhance the flavor of certain vegetables . While anecdotal , some gardener will say that when basil is plant with tomato , it can help oneself deter pests and make your tomatoes more flavorsome .

Close-up of a gardener’s hands holding a handful of fresh loose soil, over a freshly planted blueberry bush seedling in a sunny garden. Blueberry seedling has several vertical thin stems covered with small elliptical bright green leaves.

Not all plants make perfect companions , though . There are also a handful of ground that certain plants should be kept away from one another in the garden . Some of the reasons that plants make poor companions are :

Not all plants have the same needs . If two plants have different needs in terms of soil pH , piddle , plant food , or sun vulnerability , they will typically not make good familiar .

industrial plant that are great feeders can do other crops to fail by depriving them of necessary food . If two plants vie for nutrients , it can lead to a reduced harvest home from both .

Close-up of a gardener feeding a young blackberry bush in the garden with granular fertilizer. The blackberry plant has two upright stems with tiny young light green shoots. The gardener is dressed in blue gloves: black sneakers and black trousers, and pours fertilizer from a large iron bucket with an iron spatula.

If two plants share the same blighter or disease , they are typically regard poor companions . The reason for this is that they will become an even nifty prey together than apart . It is good to find these plants companions that disgust rather than attract the same insects .

Blackberries and Blueberries Together

So , how compatible are blackberries and blueberries in the garden , and why ? rent ’s consider the interactions of these two industrial plant , both damaging and overconfident , to make out to a more informed conclusion .

Sun Exposure

Both blueberries andblackberries care to be planted in full sunshine . They will produce the most fruit if they are given a minimum of 6 hour of lineal exposure daily .

While climbing mixed bag of blackberry bush may vagabond shade on shrubby blueberries , shorter blackberry bush bushes will grow to about the same size of it as blueberry bush neighbor . This makes them a successful pairing in term of sun .

Moisture

Both industrial plant need an absolute lower limit of 1 ” of piss weekly . When it amount time for harvest , both will need an increase to about 4 ” of water weekly .

This is a significant step-up and could potentially lead to tooth root rotting for blueberries . Fortunately , the two tend to mature around the same time , so this is a compatible dot as well .

Soil

Both blueberries and blackberries thrive in at large , well - draining soil that is high in constituent matter and relatively acidic .

blackberry do well at a pH of about 5.5 - 6.5 , while blueberries like even more acidity at 4.0 - 5.0 . It is potential to strike a counterbalance between the two and keep both flora glad . The slight increase in sour will not be to the detriment of blackberries .

Nutrients

Blackberries and blueberries are both moderate confluent . They each need a lower limit of one yearly alimentation in the springtime . Because neither plant is a fertilizer hog , they will not compete for nutrient , making them a good equal where nutrients are concerned .

Space

Blueberries have fine root systems that typically run no deeper than 10 ” . They are slow to spread and typically do not take up more blank space than they are given .

blackberry bush plants , on the other helping hand , have deep root systems and scatter quickly by undercover rhizome . This lean to be the most pressing issue for blackberry bush as fellow .

blackberry bush plants may need some extra maintenance so as to keep them in stop and foreclose them from pop up among your blueberry bush bushes .

Lots of blueberry bushes lined up in a sunny garden. Blueberries are deciduous shrubs belonging to the genus Vaccinium. They have thin stems covered with small elliptical leaves. The leaves are bright green. Blueberries are small, round, mini-colored berries that grow in clusters on the plant.

That said , once blueberries are established , they are sturdy and difficult to drop dead out . If this issue is a concern , consider allowing your blueberry to have the distance to themselves for their first year , and then add in your blackberry the following outpouring .

Pollinators

These two plants portion out common pollinators . They bloom close together in mid to tardy spring , and their profusion of small , nectar - rich bloom will attract a long ton of bumble bees and other aboriginal , non - social case of bee . In this agency , they increase pollination for one another , leading to an increased take of both Chuck Berry .

Final Thoughts

In all respects , blueberries and blackberries make bang-up companions in the garden . We might go so far as to call them ideal companion . With similar need , and no notable disadvantages , these two plants can apportion real estate in the garden for many years and make a premium of scrumptious summertime berries .

Close-up of a bumblebee gathering nectar from a flowering blackberry bush in a sunny garden, against a blurred green background. The plant produces small white flowers, with five petals, which bloom in clusters along the shoots. The leaves are complex, consisting of many leaflets of bright green color with a serrated edge.