I grow mine in large pots and 2013 was the first year (I've had the plants 5yrs) I got a decent crop (I say decent loosely, I got a small pot full!!) and discovered that this was due to them being pot bound - apparently when the roots no longer have anywhere to go, they finally put their energy into producing fruit!! Who'd have thought?!?!
Blueberries are probably the best of all soft fruits for pot growing and this would seem to be the ideal way of growing them unless you happen to have acid soil. Blueberries actually seem to like growing in pots!
A pot size of 18" is ideal; over-potting will actually decrease yield and you also run the risk of 'stale' compost since Blueberries are quite shallow rooted.
There are actually no fully self fertile varieties and it's always best to plant a pair of different varieties. Another aspect to consider is that of fruiting time. By planting an early and a late you will get a spread picking season.
'Patriot' is a good early variety and 'Goldtraube' a good later one.
in the case of blueberries having shallow roots - can compost be saved in the bottom of the pot by filling with a higher percentage of crocks? i do always wonder when planting in pots whether the compost at the bottom gets wasted. i know you could lift it up and see, but - just wondered if you had a rough guide?
Hi, you could fill the bottom quarter say with crocks etc but it might be difficult to maintain moisture levels in the active compost as it will be much more prone to drying out. Better I think to choose a not-too-large container in the first place, or increase the size of container gradually over 3-4 years.
Thanks to Happygirl for the explanation why I had a wonderful crop of pot grown Blueberries last year.. They are very pot bound and I had decided to repot them this year. Now I do not know what to do! Incidently, I would not get any soft fruit in my garden if I did not go to considerable expense and bother to keep the blackbirds off.
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I grow mine in large pots and 2013 was the first year (I've had the plants 5yrs) I got a decent crop (I say decent loosely, I got a small pot full!!) and discovered that this was due to them being pot bound - apparently when the roots no longer have anywhere to go, they finally put their energy into producing fruit!! Who'd have thought?!?!
Blueberries are probably the best of all soft fruits for pot growing and this would seem to be the ideal way of growing them unless you happen to have acid soil. Blueberries actually seem to like growing in pots!
A pot size of 18" is ideal; over-potting will actually decrease yield and you also run the risk of 'stale' compost since Blueberries are quite shallow rooted.
There are actually no fully self fertile varieties and it's always best to plant a pair of different varieties. Another aspect to consider is that of fruiting time. By planting an early and a late you will get a spread picking season.
'Patriot' is a good early variety and 'Goldtraube' a good later one.
Hi Chris
in the case of blueberries having shallow roots - can compost be saved in the bottom of the pot by filling with a higher percentage of crocks? i do always wonder when planting in pots whether the compost at the bottom gets wasted. i know you could lift it up and see, but - just wondered if you had a rough guide?
Hi, you could fill the bottom quarter say with crocks etc but it might be difficult to maintain moisture levels in the active compost as it will be much more prone to drying out. Better I think to choose a not-too-large container in the first place, or increase the size of container gradually over 3-4 years.
Hope that helps.
Thanks to Happygirl for the explanation why I had a wonderful crop of pot grown Blueberries last year.. They are very pot bound and I had decided to repot them this year. Now I do not know what to do! Incidently, I would not get any soft fruit in my garden if I did not go to considerable expense and bother to keep the blackbirds off.