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Blueberry Jay

claudeineclaudeine Posts: 28
I have a Blueberry Jay first year loads of blueberries second year not so many and this year none at all. I scooped out some old compost and put some new erocasious compost in it is in a large pot and I only give it rainwater out of my water butt. Shall I descard the plant now I am not sure. Any help much appreciated.

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Do you feed it?
    I use Miracle Grow for Azaleas once a month on mine when they're growing.
    A photo may help us to give some other suggestions

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • claudeineclaudeine Posts: 28
    Thankyou for your reply I have given it tomato feed and not let it dry out have enclosed picture.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Well it looks healthy enough.
    There's quite a lot of new growth so you may be overdoing the tomato feed and your plant is making leaves rather than berries. It needs to be on a diet which will encourage it to produce seeds (i.e. blueberries)

    Ideally it's best to use a feed that is designed for acid-loving plants as the uptake of nutrients is partly dependant on the pH of the compost.
    They don't need much feed either - once a month is plenty for them.
    There's no chance of berries this year I'm afraid, but cut the feeding right back and cross your fingers for next year.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • claudeineclaudeine Posts: 28
    Thankyou for your reply I did not want to discard it so I will hang on to it for next year. Do you think it would make a difference if I put it in the ground rather than keep it in a pot.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Unless your soil is very acidic then it won't survive in the ground.
    It's a healthy plant, you just need to cut back on the feeding to encourage berries.
    It's big enough to give a reasonable yield now.
    I have 3 in 22L pots (1 early season and 2 mid-season) and get about 5Kg from them over the summer between around now (I can see the first berries are almost ready) and early Sept.
    It's also best to have at least 2 plants. That improves the pollination hugely and will give a much better crop.

    If you type your postcode into this site, it will give you an idea of the soil conditions in your area.
    https://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/
    If at the top of the report it says your soil is VERY ACIDIC then it should be ok in the ground. Much of the UK doesn't have very acidic soil which is why most of us grow them in pots.

    I think if you can get another plant and feed less, you'll be surprised at how much they can produce. It's great that you can use rainwater.
    A friend of mine has 5 in pots and harvested 14Kg a couple of years ago!

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • claudeineclaudeine Posts: 28
    Thankyou for all your advice much appreciated. Like you I think I will get a couple more plants earlies and mid season and thankyou for the link.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited June 2023
    Good luck!
    A highly reputable seller of blueberries is Trehane Nursery.
    They were the first to introduce blueberries to the UK market.
    It's where I bought mine.
    Ozark Blue is excellent!
    Hope you can show us some photos of your bountiful harvest next year :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • claudeineclaudeine Posts: 28
    I'll keep you posted on progress.
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