Help a Noob :-) Blueberry Advise

[mjd42]

Should I leave them out over night at temps of 2 and 3 degrees and only bring them in if it drops to zero or below?

Last night it was forecast a 3 to 4 degrees and due to a business trip I was out at 4am and the car was slightly frozen on the windscreen (but not much), but I guess that is only surface freeze and might not get deep into the soil and roots?

matt

[ameno]

It's not the soil and roots that are the issue (those are pretty frost resistant, anyway). It's the new, tender leaves. But they should be fine at 2-3 degrees. Even the new tender leaves have a certain amount of frost resistance. They'll certainly be fine as far down as 0, and possible even a degree or two lower (best not to risk sub-zero, though, just in case).

From this winter onward you can just leave them outside all winter, as they will be dormant all winter and still dormant at this point. Yours is just growing earlier than it normally would thanks to the warmer indoor temperatures.

[Plot70]

My outdoor blueberries now have flower buds that are clearly open and in previous years have been fine even with late frost.
The leaf buds are also open too.
I am sure your will be fine with yours outside as you are further south than I am.
I have had to cover the soil with clippings to stop wild birds from turfing the soil out of the bed.

[quanglewangle]

Reading this thread with interest, as a serial killer of blueberry plants. Mrs quanglewangle spends a fortune on blueberries so I have a real incentive to grow them successfully.

[Plot70]

You need lime free soil for blueberries. Also you need rain water in most areas of the UK.
My bed weathered rapidly and the cement stopped releasing lime before the roots reached the edges.