:o/ what do I do with my blueberries?!

[mrs gruntilla]

hi

just bought and planted 2 blueberry bushes at my allotment, only to find out they are apparently pretty tricky to grow

do I have to dig them up again and plan in ericaceous compost? or can I apply something to the soil? a lovely guy at the allotment said to me 'just check some leaf mould on them' but I don't have any leaf mould...

Any help very much appreciated!

[Suzie]

Hum, personally I would grow in ericaceous compost unless you can be sure your soil has the right pH level.

I grow mine in pots to make it easier to get the right soil to them, I always try to water with rain water - but any water is better than letting them dry out.

As to the suggestion of 'chucking leaf mould on them', this (in my opinion) won't get to the roots very quickly if you are only scattering some on the top and the bushes would struggle to give you a decent crop.

[sally wright]

Dear Mrs G,
use sequestered iron as a method of making the soil more acid. If you can get some, try mulching with chopped bark or pine needles (but not leylandii as this will make them sick). SI is sometimes sold as sequestrine or hydrangea blueing.
Regards Sally Wright.
BTW do not use normal fertilizers as they will contain lime, make sure to use only ericaceous ones.

[glallotments]

We planted ours in beds in holes filled with ericaceous compost and they are doing well after some three or four years but I wouldn't dig them up now.

See how they get on and as Sally says feed with ericaceous feed. Don't worry if you don't get many berries this year as newly planted bushes take some time to become really productive.

If they start to really struggle them would be the time to attempt a replant - plants often do better than expected in less than ideal conditions.

[madasafish]

Our garden soil is neutral but very heavy : clay about 1 metre down.
We planted ours in a hole with mixed compost and garden soil and added iron sulphate and every year I water them in spring with an Ericacous feed from Miracle Gro.

Apart from 1 dead plant in year 1, we have had no casualties in 4 years. Each year I apply a 10 cm layer of compost to teh soil around the bushes.

Berries? Lots.

[Johnboy]

Hi Mrs G,
I live in an area which is naturally PH7 (Neutral) and close to where I live there is a commercial Blueberry Enterprise and all the bushes are planted in tubs with ericaceous soil and the tubs are buried up to the rim and looks very like a vineyard. There are several thousand bushes on about 20 acres.
Last year was their first year of serious cropping and they really did very well.
My fear is that if you feed with sequestered Iron and the plants get too big to transplant and there comes a depth where sequestered iron will not help your plants and in time they will suffer. I feel that it is surely best to tub the plant up using ericaceous material now.
JB.

[Tigger]

We grow ours (21 bushes) in half barrels with ericaceous soil and they do very well.