How to propagate a blueberry bush?

Small fruits never cease to delight! Especially blueberries which, in mid-summer, treat us to their sweet-tart flavour and lovely blue colour. When you grow a blueberry bush (Vaccinum myrtillus) that produces large, attractive fruits, desire to duplicate it to obtain new young plants identical to the parent plant naturally comes quickly. And when it comes to propagation by cuttings of blueberry, propagation by cuttings is the most reliable technique and the most accessible to the amateur gardener.

We will explain step by step how to propagate a blueberry by cuttings!

Small fruits of the American blueberry 'Patriot' Organic

Equipment needed for propagation by cuttings of blueberry

A very sharp, alcohol-disinfected pruning shear;
An alveolate tray, a seed tray, conventional buckets or biodegradable ones or simple terracotta pots, at least 20 cm deep;
Heather soil;
Sand;
A sprayer;
A cloche, a mini-greenhouse, a plastic bottle or a simple plastic bag with an elastic band;
A pen or a stick;
Facultative: an organic-certified propagation activator, a plant hormone for cuttings or willow water.

When to take cuttings from blueberry?

There are two distinct periods for taking cuttings from blueberry:

If you decide on a cutting on lignified wood, i.e. on last year’s wood, you must work in autumn, either October or November.
If you prefer a herbaceous cutting, i.e. on current-year wood, carry it out in June.

A herbaceous shoot of blueberry for a June cutting

How to make a cutting from blueberry on lignified wood?

1) Prepare container by mixing 2/3 heather soil and 1/3 river sand.

2) Spray the substrate with water to moisten it well and press down slightly.

3) Choose a healthy shoot from the previous year about the thickness of a pen.

4) Cut cleanly with the pruning shear this section of stem 20–30 cm long on a slant. Make this bevelled cut above a lower eye.

5) Remove lower leaves leaving only 2 to 3 leaves at the top of the shoot.

6) Dip stems in plant hormone, propagation activator or willow water. This is not obligatory!

7) Plant the cuttings, about 10 cm apart, into the substrate, keeping them upright and ensuring at least 2 buds remain above soil. Use the pen to make planting holes.

8) Firm the base of the cuttings gently with your fingers.

9) Water with a fine spray.

How to take herbaceous cuttings from blueberry?

1) Prepare the same substrate as for the lignified wood cutting: 2/3 heather soil and 1/3 sand.

2) Moisten the substrate.

3) Cut cleanly with the pruning shear a 25 cm current-year stem, recognisable by its green wood.

4) Remove leaves at the base of the stem, leaving only the top three.

5) Plant the cuttings upright, making a hole beforehand with a pen.

6) Firm with your fingers.

7) Water the substrate with the sprayer.

What next?

Again, the follow-up differs.

For the cutting on lignified wood, cover the container with a plastic bag secured with an elastic band, a cloche or a plastic bottle. This is a covered cutting. Then keep the cuttings in a warm, bright room. Remember to air the cuttings occasionally and check that the substrate remains moist.

If, the following spring, cuttings are strong enough, pot them on into pots and place them in a nursery. They can be planted out in ground in autumn.

Blueberry cuttings will be planted out in ground in autumn

Herbaceous cuttings are placed in a cold frame in shade. They must be kept regularly moist. By mid-summer, about 4 to 6 weeks after taking cuttings, first roots will appear. At that stage cuttings are potted individually and placed in a nursery until the end of autumn of the following year. Over a full year the cuttings will have time to grow. Remember to water them. They will be planted out in ground in October or November.