Each plant will have it's own preferred climate and growing conditions so there is no way to generalize about this beyond a certain point.  All plants prefer rich soil, a constant source of water and as much sunlight and as long a growing season as possible.  To that we add particular growing requirements such as blueberry plants and cranberry plants, which are acid loving, woody dicots and hence prefer an acidic chemistry.  These are swamp and bog plants but can be made to grow well anywhere by creating the proper soil conditions and properly caring for them. 

BLUEBERRY

North American natives of long-standing, blueberries are easy to grow in yard or garden if a few simple rules are followed:

Choose a variety which suits your preference for size, shape, appearance performance, spaced so it can mature.  Fruit plants have a size they naturally become and it is not possible to shape and size them by pruning since they fruit on the tip of canes and fruit will be lost if this is done.  There are blueberry plants which are evergreen ground covers which do not reach above 8 inches and there are blueberry plants which may reach as high as twenty feet.

There are also a vast number of seasons, tastes, and regional growing patterns for the known varieties of fruit.  Choosing among these is not an easy task and will often depend on which varieties and sizes are available to you.  Blueberry plants are wide adaptable if you take care to meet their needs.

Any two standard varieties will cross-pollinate, increasing fruit crops by about double.  Additionally you can extend your fruiting season and enlarge your taste by growing several varieties of blueberries. 

It is necessary to add spaghnum peat moss (combined with your best soil) to the root zone of each plant.   This will help maintain a soil pH of 4.5 to 5.5, which is the ideal for blueberries.  Adding compost and topsoil to improve the soil's organic matter is also recommended.  It is not possible to make the soil of blueberries too rich, they like organic matter, muck or peat soil, they are bog plants and this is their natural habitat.

Most of the blueberries which we produce will endure temperatures of -25, with some hardy to -45. They prefer full sunlight but will grow pretty well in 50% shade.

Once a location is chosen combine peat into a hole twenty-four inches wide and one food deep and plant so that settled soil will leave the plant at the established level, in the pot, and even with surrounding soil when it has settled.  Standard varieties should be placed at 4 foot centers, with smaller varieties at 2 foot centers.

Our large, container grown plants require no initial pruning. Lay a soaker hose or dripline along the plants before mulching to make watering thru dry periods easier. It is essential to water them during dry periods. You may use any fertilizer for acid-loving plants but a time-release, complete product such as 19-7-11 with all the trace elements is best with 5 to 15 ounces placed around the root zone at the beginning of the growing season.  Compost is a good fertilizer to use, and cottonseed meal is also a good acidic, organic fertilizer.

RASPBERRY

North American natives of long-standing, raspberries are easy to grow in yard or garden if a few simple rules are followed:

All raspberries which we produce will endure temperatures of -25, with some hardy to -45. They prefer full sunlight but will grow pretty well in 50% shade.

Choose a location where you have not grown potatoes, tomatoes or eggplant. These plants are host to verticillium wilt which may live for many years in your soil and affect brambles. Once a location is chosen combine compost, topsoil and existing soil into a 24" deep x 24" wide location and plant so that settled soil will leave the plant at the established soil level.

Our large, container grown plants require no initial pruning and will fruit during the first season from existing canes produced during the previous growing season. After fruiting is completed prune the old cane off as low as possible and discard. These canes must be burned or disposed of since they may become disease hosts. Heritage can be completely pruned in Spring causing it to fruit only once in Fall rather than to produce 2 crops as an "ever-bearer."