🫐 Growing Blueberries in North Canterbury: The CJ’s No-Fuss Guide

If you’ve ever dreamed of stepping outside and picking a handful of blueberries straight from your garden — you can.
Blueberries grow brilliantly here in North Canterbury if you choose the right variety and plant them properly.

At CJ’s Plant Farm, we’ve been growing and testing different blueberry varieties for Canterbury conditions, and we’ve learned a thing or two. Here’s our straight-up advice — no fluff, just what actually works.

👀 The Two Main Types of Blueberries in New Zealand

Before you grab a plant, it helps to know what you’re buying. There are two main types of blueberries you’ll find in New Zealand garden centres:

1. Highbush Blueberries

Highbush varieties need more chill hours so are well suited to cool-climate types that get frost such as North Centerbury, Central Otago, Hanmer Springs and the lower South Island. They like rich, acidic soil and regular moisture.

2. Rabbiteye Blueberries

Heat-tolerant and less fussy about soil — great for most Canterbury gardens. But here’s the catch:

• They don’t like hard frosts (anything below –5°C).
• They need at least two varieties for pollination and a proper crop.

If you’re in Amberley, Waipara, or North Canterbury, Rabbiteyes are usually your best bet. Just keep them out of frost pockets and they’ll reward you with bucketloads of berries.

💧 Watering, Feeding & Mulching

Blueberries are shallow-rooted and don’t like drying out. Keep them consistently moist, especially during flowering and fruiting. If necessary raise the planting bed up to improve drainage.

A thick layer of mulch (bark, straw, or pine needles) keeps the soil cool, locks in moisture, and adds organic matter.

Feed them once or twice a year with a fertiliser for acid-loving plants — the same stuff you’d use on rhodos or camellias.

🌿 Low-Maintenance and Pest-Free

Blueberries are thornless, low-maintenance, and generally pest-free. They don’t need spraying and can live happily in pots if you’re short on space.
Expect them to reach about 1.5–1.8m tall when mature. It's recommended to thin fruit out to enjoy larger berries.

🫐 Expected Harvest Dates

Variety	Type	Excepted Harvest date
Centurion	Rabbiteye	crops February to April
Powder Blue	Rabbiteye	crops late January to mid-March
Rahi	Rabbiteye	crops late February - March
Tifblue	Rabbiteye	crops late January to April
Reka	Northern Highbush	crops Late November to late December
Nui	Northern Highbush	late November to early January
Sierra	Northern Highbush	late November to early January
Legacy	Southern HighBush	crops late February - March