How to Grow Top Hat Blueberries in Containers

Prepare the potting mix. Combine 2 parts sphagnum peat moss and two parts pine bark chips to 1/2 part sand. For example, if using 2 pounds of peat moss, mix it with 2 pounds of pine chips and 1/2 pound of sand. The sand is optional, but helps improve drainage.

Place a 2- or 3-inch layer of your planting mix in the bottom of the pot. If your blueberry has burlap or other packaging around the roots, remove the packaging. Set your blueberry so it is level in the pot and then fill in the rest of the container with your potting mix. Leave 1-1/2 inch of space from the rim of the pot.

Water your Top Hat blueberry enough to thoroughly moisten the potting mix, but not so much that there is standing water. Add a 1-inch layer of pine chips on top of the potting mix.for mulch to hold in moisture. Place your pot in a sunny spot in your garden or on your patio.

Water your potted blueberry when the soil is dry to a depth of two inches. A month after planting, feed your Top Hat blueberry with a fertilizer specifically intended for acid-loving plants. Continue to feed your blueberry monthly during the growing season. Once the plant stops producing berries in late summer, discontinue feeding. Resume feeding when you see new growth in the spring.

Protect your Top Hat blueberry in the winter. Although the above-ground part of the plant is tolerant of freezing temperatures, the Top Hat blueberry's roots need protection from long freezes. You can either move your pot into a garage during the winter or bury the pot in the ground to insulate the roots. If you bring it into the garage, water it well went you first store it, then water once a month. You can move your container back to its usual place in early spring.