Detailed instructions on how to plant rowanberries in a pot

How to plant cranberries if you only have a terrace or the soil on your plot is ungrateful? I have good news for you: you can grow these berries almost anywhere, even in pots.

Here is an instructional video on how to plant rowanberries in a pot to be truly successful:

And if you want to learn more about modern gardening and learn how to get a bountiful harvest naturally, you’ll love our courses «Modern garden». At the end of the course there will be a live question and answer session with the teacher Dr. Inge Auželiene.

Why did I plant rowanberries in a pot?

Many may wonder why you should plant blueberries in a pot and not outdoors. Of course, if you have enough space in the yard, it is always better to plant rowanberries in open ground – detailed instructions can be found here.

However, if your plot has a lot of clay and it is difficult to dig holes, try planting another rowan tree in a pot. In pots you can control the whole situation: what kind of soil you put in, that’s what you’ll get.

Or maybe you have little land near the house, but there is a terrace, in this case potted rowanberries are also a great choice – one of my friends has been growing rowanberries this way for several years now and does not see any problems.

What to prepare

Before you start planting, prepare the necessary tools for work:

• Blueberry seedlings – how about without them;
• Acid peat with additives (I will clarify soon, this time I used Terraerden strawberry substrate);
• Drainage;
• Pots to plant in;
• Mulch.

Let’s continue our journey: I will tell you how to choose everything correctly and show you how to plant rowanberries in a pot.

How to choose blueberry seedlings

If you doubt whether you can grow blueberries in pots, follow 3 criteria:

• Proven variety (this is not the place to experiment);
• Quality seedling;
• Seedling size (age).

This time I chose the tried and tested mulberry ‚Bluecrop‘. This is one of the most popular mulberry varieties, and not without reason. It is very productive and the berries are large and sweet.

The next important step is to check whether the seedling has a plant passport. This is a special label with all the most important information about the plant. The plant passport is formal proof that the plant is probably of high quality, since only verified and certified nurseries are entitled to issue passports.

Another important nuance is the size of the seedling. How soon you will have a harvest will depend on this. A small seedling will cost less, but the harvest may have to wait. If you buy an already grown bush, you will get the result faster, but the seedling itself will be more expensive.

How to choose a pot for rowanberries

If you were to plant a decorative plant in a pot, all you would need is a larger pot than the one in which the plant was growing up to that point. But when it comes to blueberry bushes, you need a much larger pot.

Blueberry roots are shallower than deep. Therefore, always give priority to as large a plate as possible.

For the dish itself, I’ll look at some suitable options:

• A nice pot with wheels is a very convenient choice if you later want to move the plant to another place (there will definitely be some weight).
• You can put the black, «work» one, in which the seedlings are grown in a beautiful pot. In this case the black one has holes to allow excess water to drain away, while the beautiful one can be without holes, which is important if you don’t want dirty water to contaminate the terrace floor.
• Any pot you already have will work.

This time I used an old ceramic vase in which I had seen many plants, which I already had at home. There is no need to buy a new one if you can use something a second time. My pot is not very wide, so next year this seedling will have to be transplanted into a larger one.

Instructions on how to plant rowanberries in a pot

1 phases: prepare a pot with holes in the bottom. If they aren’t there, pierce or discard them.

2 phases: add a draining layer: stones, clay shards, expanded clay granules are suitable. It is designed to drain water.

3 phases: prepare the substrate. Peas need acidic peat, but peat alone is not enough: peat must be combined with nutrients (for example, mixed with composted soil or cow manure).

Since you will be growing these blueberries in a pot, I would also recommend adding some moisture-retaining additives, such as vermiculite or absorbent granules.

It is easier to use a ready-made mixture. Make sure it is good quality. I used Terraerden berry substrate, the quality of which has been proven through scientific research. It contains everything blackberries need: peat, nutrients, trace elements and the moisturizing material «Fiba Zorb Plus».

You can buy this substrate in the store chain «Moki veži», where you can often find interesting promotions, or online in the manufacturer’s e-store Terraerden.com (advertising).

4 phases: leave the land in abundance. Peat is loose – if you don’t water it when planting, the soil will collapse and create holes. Therefore, I recommend watering in stages. You have poured part of the substrate – water immediately and when the water runs off, pour the substrate again and water again.

5 phases: plant in a pot. Turn the seedling on its side and gently squeeze the pot it grew in – you will see how easily the entire seedling comes off with the soil. It remains to plant it.

A common mistake is planting blueberries too deep. Then you may not be able to grow them. Blueberries have shallow roots, so don’t bury them too deep.

6 phases: fill the empty spaces with the substrate and water everything well again.

7 phases: mulch the top so the moisture doesn’t evaporate as quickly. Pine bark mulch or pine needles are great for sedges, as they slightly acidify the soil as they decompose.

8 stages: prune if necessary. It is normal for the seedlings to suffer slight damage during transportation. So now take the shears and cut off the dead, dry and broken branches. Then the bush will be able to devote all its energy to growing quality branches and crops.

Place the pot in a sunny spot in your garden or patio. That’s all! And now let’s move on to caring for blueberries, what to do next.

Blueberry care after planting

During the first two months do not forget to constantly touch the strawberries, in no case do not let the earth dry out.

After that, watering is still key: if you are afraid of forgetting, it will come in handy irrigation systems.

Fertilize blueberries in the first year there is no need. The Terraerden berry substrate already contains everything they need, so the nutrients will certainly be sufficient for the first year.

In the second year, if you transplant the blueberries into larger pots, you will add both the substrate and the fertilizer. If you do not transplant and grow in the same pot, fertilizer and acidifier will be needed. How to fertilize blueberries, read here.

Caring for Potted Blueberries in Winter

There are two options:

• If the vase is ceramic, move it indoors (for example to the cellar or garage) where it will maintain a stable temperature throughout the winter
• If the pot is suitable for winter (for example foam pots or pots with air gaps), you can leave it outdoors. Also, it can be wrapped with agricultural film or some kind of fabric. It is best to move the pots to a shady spot during the winter so that there are no drastic temperature differences.

This is a complete guide on how to plant rowanberries in pots and how to care for them afterwards. It’s quite simple: it is important to choose a pot of the right size and use a substrate specially suitable for blueberries, do not forget to water it and you will definitely get a bountiful harvest of berries.

Related courses:

«Modern vegetable garden» – video lessons for those who want to grow an abundant harvest of fruits, vegetables and berries in a natural way. Conducted by the speaker Dr. Ingė Auželienė.

Read also:

Blueberry plantation: instructions for beginners

How to prune rowanberries in spring so that the berries are large