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Blueberry shrub
Mine is still in its first year so I could not comment on the variety but a second different variety could improve the yield of your patriot bushes as it could improve pollintation if they are flowering at the same time.
Mine has slow release azalea food in the compost that I will refresh next spring. Seemed like the easiest option. I often forget to feed with liquid foods and most other things I have will raise the pH of the soil. It seems to love it as it has doubled in size since I fed it.
Last edited: 18 August 2016 11:36:36
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I grow Bluecrop, Brigita Blue, Blue Jay and Herbert. The first three all crop quite heavily, probably Bluecrop is heaviest. Herbert has less fruit but is the sweetest and best flavoured.
Mine is against a west facing fence in a sun trap of a courtyard. I have added a couple of different varieties all bought for between £2-5 dotted around. They are currently sitting in saucers to try to stop them from drying out.
Mine are all in pots as my soil is not acidic. They only get rain water from our water butt as our tap water is liquid lime.
Be careful with plant food. It needs to be suitable for acid loving plants. Mine has also got a couple of doses of iron+seaweed feed to 'rejuvinate acid loving plants' and counteract and accidental tap water/ concrete dust exposure (its a new build property with us and neighbours extending patios).
I don't know if west is good, its just where I had space. I know they like sun but there is a bit too much at times.
Bought the house for its south facing garden but now its too warm to sit out and I spend 1hr+ watering all my pots
I've got Darrow, Spartan, and Rubel. They are all in their first year, so I can't comment on yields (except that I wouldn't expect much in the first year even from a heavy cropper, certainly not enough for two to share!) but they all taste nice. I've only had one berry off the Rubel, which is the smallest plant at the moment, but it was the best one - a complex taste more like wild blueberries.
They are in pots sunk in the ground on my allotment, in full sun. They do need a lot of watering, but they are very happy in their pots with ericaceous compost and being fed with feed for acid-loving plants.
12 in one day? I wish I had as many!
Did anyone else have a bad crop this year? I had a decent first year crop, repotted all 3 bushes in bigger containers over the winter, treated for vine weevil larvae just in case. It seemed like they bloomed too early and then the cold weather came and they didn't really set fruit. Two of my varieties have very healthy looking plants but few blossoms/berries. My bluecrop, which is supposed to be evergreen and also better with heat is looking like it's dying. I've checked the soil for vine weevil but nothing. I treat them all the same. Once a year slow release Azaela feed and potted in ericaceous compost and watered with rain water. I'm hoping the bluecrop will recover because it was a heavy producer the first year I planted it. (All three came from Trehane/Dorset Blueberry Co. and so were a decent size when I got them. They also recommended 3 that would be good cross-pollinators for each other while ensuring steady supply of berries. Worked last summer but not very good at all this summer.)
Watery, you might want to e-mail Trehane for advice, I've heard they are very helpful.
I've got Bluecrop and Patriot, both 4 years old and both have cropped really well this year. Bluecrop is still going (or was before today's storms). It's the first year I've had more than a handful of fruit; I think I would have had more last year but the birds took them all before they were ripe enough to pick. This year my Heath Robinson bird net was more successful.
I'm able to grow mine in open ground and didn't get round to feeding them this year.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Yes, the native soil is acidic, or rather it has no lime at all. It used to be sheep pasture until about 5 years ago. I can get it up to 'neutral' with plenty of manure/compost - it's taken me 5 years to get the soil neutral enough for brassicas to grow fairly well in raised beds. But I can grow azaleas and blueberries without trying too hard
ETA: I think the birds go for red berries for preference, so they came for the raspberries and ate the blueberries (while they were still pink) as a sort of side salad
Last edited: 21 August 2016 15:24:55
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”