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Blueberry bush.
zakzak
Posts: 178
in Fruit & veg
Hello all gardeners. Could anyone give me any advice on growing blueberries. I am thinking about purchasing a bush but need help on looking after it i.e. soil and pot size.And were does it need to be situated.
0
Posts
As Verdun has said, you need to check out the pollination requirements of your particular variety of blueberry.
And it's worth noting that even the 'self fertile' ones produce a much better crop with another planted nearby.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/fruit/blueberries
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My two did much better when I added another one of a different variety for pollination. Mine are in large pots with ericaceous soil in shade in mid afternoon from the house. This year I will be netting them as the birds found out and starting taking the berries.
Yes, rain water is important, meant to mention it. I live in a hard water area, they don't like hard water.
I have three I bought at the end of January, Patriot, Rubel and Pink Lemonade. Two or more gives you better cross-pollination and you can get varieties that fruit at different times and they've obviously all got different features - my Pink Lemonade has gorgeous pink-green foliage for example.
I got all mine as part of an offer from Suttons. I had a bit of a saga with them where one (the Pink Lemonade) seemed to arrive in terrible condition and I complained, although it's doing the best of the three now! I don't think Suttons is particularly recommended for full-grown plants, but I was a complete newbie when I bought them - and luckily it all turned out OK in the end.
Mine are in pots on the patio, as my soil's a bit rubbish.
They need acid-soil (they're native to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, pine makes the soil acidic), so ericaceous compost as others have said if you don't have acid soil. They prefer rain water if you live in a hard-water area.
I recommend getting a copy of James Wong's 'Grown for Flavour' if you can (they're fairly cheap second-hand from you-know-where, or I got it from the library), as he has loads of info on growing blueberries.
SJD
(Left to right: Patriot, Pink Lemonade, Rubel)
It's a single plant and lanky, didn't thrive.
No, I didn't use ericaceous compost.
Soil here is alkaline. Last week I put some rotted chicken manure around it and forked it in. What do you think? Is it a lost cause?