Topic: cranberries and blueberries

[aquilegia]

Flicking through Ken Muir yesterday - I noticed cranberries - didn't think about growing them before....

Are they hardy enough to bother with?

Are they self-fertile or do I need too?

And I also want a blueberry (Santa, are you listening!)...

Any experience of growing these?

EDIT - I was going to put them both in pots.

[jennym]

No experience whatsoever - BUT ...
I just received 6 blueberry plants from Buckingham Nurseries - watch this space....

[djbrenton]

Don't cranberries need quite a boggy area?

[spacehopper]

I think they both need an acidic soil, with a pH of 5 or below. Blueberries benifit from having a different type of blueberry near it to help with pollination.

Here are some links:

http://www.citygardening.net/growblue/
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/2253.htm

[bananagirl]

I got a blueberry in a pot a couple years ago. So far, it's just barely staying alive, no thanks to me! I gave it too much fertiliser one time, and burnt it, then went on holiday for 3 weeks in the middle of summer and left it to the tender mercies of my flatmate. All in all, I've maybe had a dozen berries, but the fact it's still alive...apparently they are self fertile, but work much better when they've a friend to play with, so I think I'll get another (2) next year. Cranberries I'd love to try. I read something somewhere that you can grow them in hanging pots. They need bogs to grow I think.

[Doris_Pinks]

Aqui if you go to this link and read the Telegraph article, it convinced me to get a couple! Looking forward to blueberries next year! ;D

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,10569.0.html

[jennym]

The blueberries I received from Buckingham nurseries look really good.
They have arrived in very good condition, in 10cm pots, well established with a good fibrous root system. They look to be around 12 -1 8 months old, but I'm guessing, they are about 40cm high.
I bought 6 plants, 2 of each of Berkeley, Bluecrop and Herbert, these cost me £3.25 each.
I bought other things too, and the delivery charge was £6.95 so this works out at £4.40 per plant if I'd just bought the blueberries.

[Aussie Chick]

Thats a good price...do you have a link for them?

[colleenemp]

Very successful blueberries this year. Acidic soil is necessary and check whether you will need to cross pollinate or not. I just got one bush to try and used the results with my trial blackcurrant crop. easy peasy this summer.  ;)

[jennym]

Thats a good price...do you have a link for them?

The website for the nursery is http://www.buckingham-nurseries.co.uk/acatalog/index.html

[fbgrifter]

i grow both blueberries and cranberries.  got absolutely loads of blueberries from my two shrubs  (hardy blue and nelson(tho nelson not so prolific)).  i never seem to get more than 2 cranberries a year from my 4 plants.  i have very wet and acidic soil.  i would recommend you go for lingonberries rather than cranberries, look and taste similar but supposedly easier to grow. 

[fbgrifter]

oh and thoroughly recommend the dorset blueberry company http://www.dorset-blueberry.com/