Blueberries and alkaline soil.. I've made a mistake!

Filipemacedo73795 · 5 January

Hi all,

Recently purchased 3 blueberry bushes (2 years - Bluecrop/Duke/Patriot varieties) and was planning on putting it alongside the wall on my allotment, to then find out they don't do well in alkaline soil..

Would they still grow well if i dig a hole in, put in Ericaceous compost (I've purchased 5 40l bags), plant them normally and make sure I add Sulfur to the soil regularly?
Whilst mulching with eggshells/coffee grounds/pine needles going forward.

Does anyone have any alternatives that may help?

Thanks for any advice!

Biglad · 5 January

I think that you're highly unlikely to get much joy trying to alter the PH of the soil. Can you get hold of/make any planters?

Filipemacedo73795 · 5 January

Biglad said:

I think that you're highly unlikely to get much joy trying to alter the PH of the soil. Can you get hold of/make any planters?

Looking at purchasing some now, might be my best bet from all the googling I've done!

Pete.8 · 5 January

I agree that you'll need to put them in pots.
My soil is slightly acid, but blueberries need soil that is very acidic.

I have 3 plants that I've had for about 6 or 7 years now and they do very well.
They're potted in ericaceous compost and I only use rainwater on them.
They get fed once a month when they're growing with a fertilizer suitable for acid-loving plants - I use Miracle Gro for Azaleas.
Ordinary fertilizers will not work very well for them.

They don't like to dry out at all, so keep them well watered - too much is better than too little.
They also need protection from birds.
Patriot is the first to be ready during late June/early July.
Then Ozark Blue (my fave) and Herbert continue to fruit until well into Sept.
I get about 5-6Kg from the 3 plants now each season.

During the first few years they probably won't need pruning, then it's a case of removing the oldest stem to encourage the plant to produce new stems that will bear much larger berries.

diggersjo · 5 January

Pete's advice seems great. I only feed mine once, can't recall why, but did have advice to that effect?

rowlandscastle444 · 6 January

I made sure mine went in a very large planter. I even bought a beautiful blue one, filling it with the correct type of soil.

My mistake was to buy a single plant. You've done the right thing by buying more than one plant. Don't waste your money and time by putting them in the ground where the roots will extend beyond the ericaceous soil.
I would suggest for the long term, that they go in large planters, where you can control the soil type.

I wish you success.

My single plant never produced any fruit, and died!!

Busy-Lizzie · 6 January

When I had alkali soil I planted my 3 blueberries in tall pots in ericaceous soil and they did pretty well - apart from needing a lot of watering with rainwater in summer and the blackbirds discovering them!

Dovefromabove · 6 January

Snap! @Busy-Lizzie … I think ours have a sign on them ‘Blackbirds this way 👉’ … despite the pots being on the terrace right by the back door, right by the kitchen window and surrounded with netting 😆

Busy-Lizzie · 6 January

Mine were by the kitchen door, surrounded with netting, too @Dovefromabove!

muckyhandsmike · 6 January

I was considering getting a couple but wasn’t sure about their frost hardiness ? If in large planters they’d be difficult to move about ….

Dovefromabove · 6 January

No problem with frost here … they coped with the Beast from the East with no problems. I’d not worry about hardiness.

https://horticulture.co.uk/blueberry/overwintering/#:~:text=The%20vast%20majority%20of%20commercially-available%20blueberry%20cultivars%20are,UK%20and%20can%20withstand%20temperatures%20well%20below%20freezing.

Blueberries and alkaline soil.. I've made a mistake!

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