Blueberry bush

[busy_lizzie]

Hi all, I am thinking about getting a blueberry bush for next season.  Has anybody got any tips, e.g. which variety, should I have it in soil or a pot and anything else which would be useful.  Thanks!  :-* busy_lizzie

[busy_lizzie]

[valmarg]

Blueberries are OK in pots or in the ground, but they are lime haters, so whichever way you decide to grow them, they will need to be in an ericaceous compost.  You will need to know what the Ph of your soil is if you grow them in the ground.

I bought two plants because I understand that this helps with pollination.  I don't think they need to be different varieties

The seed companies have got various 'special' offers on for next year.

Whatever you decide to do (garden or pot) they will need to be protected from blackbirds/thrushes.  They just love 'em.  Having picked our redcurrants this year, let our guard down a bit on the fruit cage - never had one!!

[angle shades]

:)

hi busy Lizzie, my variety is wilkos own.

the first lot of bushes died  when in the ground.

the second lot are great in pots (for me it was easier to keep the Ph correct)

they haven't fruited yet , I'll have had them two years soon/shades x

[busy_lizzie]

Thanks Valmarg and Angleshades!  Really appreciate the advice. I think I am leaning towards having them in big pots, as, as you say it will be easier to control the soil ph then.  Know what you mean about the birds, we too didn't have our redcurrants caged again this year and the birds got most of them. One of those jobs we meant to get around to.  :) busy_lizzie

[cleo]

Mulchmad and me went on a day course on soft fruit growing a few weeks ago but I forgot my glasses so didn`t take any notes-but as I remember blueberries take a while(5years?) to fruit

[cleo]

Whoops :-[-for Mulchmad read Supersprout

[real food]

I have planted bare rooted bushes in three different years, and in all cases they fruited the first year.

[KMARKSnr]

Yes same here.

                             :) Best Wishes

[caroline7758]

Can I add another blueberry question here, please. I bought two last year and put them in pots on my patio. They grew well, but only one fruited. Now both have put on a lot of growth, but I'm sure I've read they shouldn't be pruned. Is this correct? It's just that my patio isn't very big!

[supersprout]

ahem, quoting from the Barnsdale course:
the objective of pruning bbs is to make the bush into a nice goblet shape. Remove 4 years + wood to make room for new by cutting back by 1/5 to 1/4. So the bushes grow quite big, I was expecting something like a bilberry plant but it's quite different!

Whoops :-[-for Mulchmad read Supersprout

I've been called worse :-* ;D

[real food]

I think that my oldest bush is some five years old, growing in the open ground, and it will not need any pruning for a few years yet. It will be only about 60 cms high and the branches are quite open.

[allanwoolley]

Would it be possible to wait until the fruits are ready to turn colour and then throw some fine netting over them until they are pickable?   The idea of a five foot high fruit cage does not appeal!

[valmarg]

Yes aw, it would be possible to put netting over the blueberries, but it would be better to make a bit of a cage framework with canes, or something.  Our experience with netting just draped over the plants, the blackbirds use it as a perch to peck through.

Our experience with cherries, redcurrants and blueberries is that the fruit doesn't need to be fully ripe.  As soon as it starts showing any colour the blackbirds will be after them.

On the cherry tree we did try putting fleece over it on the basis of 'what the eye can't see, etc'.  The only problem with that was that the air didn't circulate so well, and we lost quite a lot of cherries to mould.  On balance I think I would have preferred the blackbirds have them than what happened.

[real food]

The height of my blueberries I quoted as 60cms, not 60ins. It would be another 10-15 years before they will need a 5ft high fruit cage!

[allanwoolley]

Thanks Valmarg for your comments.   I might say realfood that your blueberries must be the dwarfer variety

[real food]

I have just checked the variety and it is Bluecrop, which seems to be the cheapest and most readily available.
Just a thought if your blueberry bushes are taking a long time to fruit, if you bought them from Lidle's last spring you will be waiting for ever!! A friend bought some and they are quite clearly small roses!!

[mc55]

one of my Christmas pressies is a Sunshine Blueberry bush !!  hurray !

[Amazin]

Don't forget, in Jan/Feb, both Woolies and Wilkinsons get their fruit bushes in - I've had blueberries from both and they all fruited in the first year.