has anybody tried growing blueberry if so how easy are they to grow and what type off crop to expect many thanks
I really wanted to add those and Cranberries to my fruit cage but they are so expensive to buy they will have to wait.
i was lucky they came out of my brother-in-laws garden with 3 gooseberry,7 raspberry,2 redcurrant,2 blackcurrant,1 loganberry and a pear tree (yes honestly there was a pear tree with them all) saved a small fortune ;D
best grown in large pots IMO, then you can make the soil peaty which is what they lurrrve :)
I was lucky enough to get some in an offer in Garden News (thanks Mum!!) a few month back. The only people I know who grow them have them in pots as they need rather more acidity and moisture then many plots or gardens can offer. Lots of ericaceous and rainwater is required according to what I've read. I hope to see how well that bears out next year. Lance
I got a dwarf plant as a present from my mum too, I think it's called Top Hat but I'm not 100%. I planted it in a pot of ericaeous compost but I still haven't had any blueberries. The first season all the flowers buds fell off before they could turn into fruit, then this year it got as far as mini fruit then they all fell off too. I asked someone at Hampton Court Flower Show this year what the problem might be, and they said it could be inconsistent watering at the crucial fruit-production moment, and also to only water with rain water as tap water is too alkaline. The irony is that my mum, bless her, is NOT a gardener and has a blueberry plant (can't remember which variety) that she ignores, forgets to water, has never fed, has outgrown its pot and has tufts of root sticking out of the surface of the soil and she gets more blueberries from it than she knows what to do with! Some people say they're difficult to grow, and some people say they're easy, it depends who you ask. I'm going to give my dwarf plant one more year then I'm stealing my mum's!
Send these guys a message they will help you. These guys really know their business ;)
emailto :- info@dorset-blueberry.co.uk
thanks to all that have left information on blueberries and to anybody who may add to this subject thanks again
They like a mate (for pollination) so more than one is best. Have only grown them this year, in the ground but with plenty of ericaceous compost and other acidy things like leafmould and conifer waste. Plants were put in at back end of 2005 I think, so didn't get many berries but will persevere. If honest, I preferred the taste of blackcurrants etc but maybe will get to like them.
We've had quite a discussion about blueberries on the beeb if you're interested, there might be something useful for you.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbgardening/F2759006?thread=3661543
Thanks flowerlady for the email address. I emailed them last night and got this reply this morning:
"Top Hat is notoriously difficult to grow---- which is why we don’t stock it! You are doing well to have a healthy plant.
The problem sounds like poor pollination. Cross pollination with another variety (as with apples), should do the trick. Inconsistent watering can reduce fruit set so it is good to prevent the soil drying out completely throughout the growing season. Rain water is ideal but alkaline water is always better than none and is unlikely to affect the fruit set.
Have a look at our web site. www.dorset-blueberry.co.uk. I hope this helps."
So if you're going to grow blueberries, have at least two plants for cross-pollination and don't buy Top Hat!
Quote from: norfolklass on November 28, 2006, 09:13:49
So if you're going to grow blueberries, have at least two plants for cross-pollination
Anyone know which variety to grow with Bluecrop ???? My blueberry plant had 6 berries in its first year, but it has grown lots so I have high expectations for next year! I found it very ornamental too. With its blazing red autumn leaves it looked more impressive than the Acer palmatum next to it!
hi dandelion. try this page, it's a list of varieties suitable for the UK:
http://www.dorset-blueberry.com/uk_blueberry_varieties.asp
good luck!
Now I don't really know a great deal about this, but I do know that there are european blueberries too. I saw 8) (and tasted ;D) them growing wild when I was in Sweden in August - low growing bushes (about 6") which carpet the forest floor under the mix of pines and birches. This was apparently a bad year, but even so they seemed to be fruiting quite prolifically - berries about 1/4" across with wonderful flavour.
These may be more tricky to get hold of, and may not be well suited to an allotment, but thought I'd mention it. A breif investigation suggests that the type I saw may sometimes be called bilberries - I could be wrong - but either way they must be pretty hardy to survive in full shade, getting burried in snow for several months each year!
Bilberries grow in most heather-based heathland in the UK and in upland forest habitats. I saw many plants with fruit as big as the American blueberry this year. You can normally collect a few seeds from the wild without doing too much damage, just throw a few back if you get any fruit.
Bilberry (Vaccinum Mrytillus) seeds are sold by Chiltern seeds the berries taste slightly different to blueberries, a bit sharper. The bushes are very easy to grow from seed & you get tons of fruit which will need to be protected from the birds as they particularly like bilberries & they can clear a bush in a couple of hours.
I have had two blueberries - Berkely and another no name - in pots of ericaceous compost for several years with a spring dose of pelleted chicken manure and feeds of liquid tomato fertiliser and they have been prolific croppers. They have survived frosts down to -20C, no direct sun from October to March and gales, hails and sunshine. Tough as old boots and decorative too.
They have been watered with hard tap water with occasional doses of miracid to compensate and haven't minded a bit. However this year, while we were away in July they got fried to a crisp. Both have recovered well and have now been planted in deep holes in the veggie plot filled with ericaceous compost so they don't fry again.
Bilberries are the European version which turn your tongue blue (childhood fun) and have a stronger flavour but they like moist, peaty soil which is harder to replicate. They grow wild on northern and Scottish moors so are also tough as old boots.
I got 3 for 2 from The Guardian last year. One died but the other 2 are doing very well in big old tins. I got a good couple of handfuls off each this year. As someone has already said, they need ericaceous compost and rainwater, not tap water. They are delicious and packed full of antioxidants too!!