I would like to grow blueberry's. Advice please I live in Oxfordshire area. :wave:
Ohhh..they are lovely and VERY easy to grow providing you get the basics right.
They love acidic soil/compost so if you ground conditions are not right you will need container and ericaceous compost mix (with mix I mean added sand/grit to ericaceous compost to aid drainage and perharps some neutral bagged top soil too to give little weight for the mix and helping to keep mix moist and from shrinking)
Once planted they don't need much looking after...pruning only to remove any dead growth. Plants in containers need occasional feed with ericaceous fertilizer and if you save some rain/pond water for watering your plants are sorted.
Even easier if your ground conditions are right for planting straight on..just spring feed and keeping some moisture on..job done :icon_cheers:
It would help if you have couple/few different varieties planted as it will help pollen transfer and you get better crops.
Blue berries are winter hardy so don't need any fancy treatments...if the birds in you area take liking to ripening fruit you have to net/cage the bushes to have any chance of having berries for yourself.
Quote from: horatio on July 26, 2013, 11:59:59
I would like to grow blueberry's. Advice please I live in Oxfordshire area. :wave:
If you have acidic soil then you will be ok otherwise you will have to grow them in tubs with acidic compost and remember to water them regularly which with my memory I find difficult. I can't be doing with chores.
There is an alternative berry that tastes very much like a blue berry that doesn't need acidic soil that you can grow straight in the ground. It's called a honey berry. It's a member of the honeysuckle family so will need something to climb up. It will grow to about 5ft max. It's frost hardy down to -40 so you won't need to worry about it in the winter. It's a relatively new plant to this country and flowers very early in March when there isn't a lot of blossom about so could be quite ornamental in the right place. Then you'll have the berries to eat later.
There are pockets of acid soil in Oxfordshire. Have a look at your local weeds/plants. If there are things like bracken and rhododendrons you are in luck.
I have a friend in Oxfordshire and she does very well indeed growing them in pots though you also need rain water as well.
Need to know your soil type. How far away is the nearest rhododendron?