Blueberries – Planting in Canadian Peat Moss

Q: I’m buying blueberry bushes from a blueberry farm. They specifically want me to plant them in a Canadian peat moss mixture. What is the difference in Canadian peat moss and other peat moss?

A: My guess is they want the Canadian sphagnum peat because it is more acidic than reed/sedge peat. Blueberries require acidic but well-drained soil and that’s what Canadian peat provides. Sphagnum peat comes from sphagnum moss and is available in small bags or larger compressed bundles. It’s light brown in color. Reed/sedge peat is brown to black in color, mucky feeling and is formed from a variety of plant materials. It is usually more decomposed than sphagnum peat. It has a finer texture, so its water-holding capacity is lower than that of sphagnum peat.