Blueberry Help

[Markyreds]

I have recently bought a blueberry bush, which looked fine when I got it. Most of the flowers on it look like they are dying/dead. I have fed it with Ericaceous plant food but this does not seem to have helped much. Some of the flowers are still fine but the plant itself looks sad. Is this normal? What can I do to rescue it?

[VirginVegGrower]

Oops wrong bit of the forum - Pot it in ericaceous soil maybe.

[buzzingtalk]

Is it potted in eracious soil like VVG said? My 6 blueberry plants are potted in nice big pots with john innes eracious compost with a mulch of pine chippings and shaved wood (pine chippings are acidic so make a great, free mulch when the needles fall from the trees in autumn).

When you say the flowers seem to be dying, are the outer parts going brown? Are you able to post a picture? Also, do you know how old the plant is - I bought mine last year, they were still young and the seller said I shouldn't expect to get any fruit at all off them, but now a few of them are about 2ft high with flowers and little green fruit that are swelling by the day. My earlies however, had flowers but so far no fruit, but very good growth, so maybe they will come next year.

Another thing about blueberries is they are self fertile, kind of, but are much much better when teamed up with another blueberry plant to help them pollinate and flower - so it might be that the flowers are falling as they have not been pollinated. Take into account the weather at the moment too, going from very hot to chilly at night - this might be affecting your plant too

Good luck!

[rth]

well i have 2 bb plants 1 is forming fruit the other is not as the 1 plant looks alot younger how and when can you take cuttings of b/berrys ?

[chris]

The flowers do die and eventually off, thent he fruit comes:


This is my second year with them - I should have about a punnet from each plant this year. Last year, I bought them in 4L pots I think, and had a grand total of two berries. They like their feet wet, as they're bog loving plants (hence why they like acid growing conditions!)- but try and water with rain water if you can. A tip posted on here a while go stated adding vinegar to tap water helped someone with their crop..

Good info here: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...uide_6408.html

[Markyreds]

Thanks for your help Chris. I'll try to get the pictures to work on here, but in the meantime I'll check out the link you gave me. (I must say, my plant is looking quite poorly compared to yours).

[chris]

Have you watered them well recently? They may be thirsty (check the compost).. If mine haven't been rained on, I tend to give them a real good watering once a week (as in a bucket full of water, per pot).

Edit: There's cobwebs over your blueberries - do you have a load of spiders that may be upsetting 'em? Have a close look (for pests), but I doubt spiders would cause an issue.. just noticed it.

It could be sulking too, if you've repotted it or potted it on since you bought it. If it's watered enough, I'd give it a couple of days to recover - you should see some tomatoes that I've potted on yesterday - they're pretty much lying down across the compost. I like to think of plants like my wife - you do something they don't like and you'll be tripping over their bottom lip for a couple of days

[VirginVegGrower]

I like to think of plants like my wife - you do something they don't like and you'll be tripping over their bottom lip for a couple of days

all I can say is that YOU MUST BE A VERY NAUGHTY BOY CM!

[sljh]

I suffered this a year or so back on a blueberry bush I bought from Dorset Blueberry Farm, in response to an email enquiry they informed me it was an insect that was causing it - by the time they had replied the insect had stripped the whole plant of its leaves. Apparently it is the nemesis of blueberry growers as it can wipe out a whole crop in a day.

For the life of me I cannot remember what they called it - blueberry sawfly?

They told me that the tell-tale signs were a 'cobwebbly looking substance' - this apparently is made by the larvae to swing from one part of the plant to another.

I lost everything on that plant that year and also noticed that the ends of some of the branches were dead. Snipped them off at the end of the season and for two years the plant was fine... however the little blighters came back this year - I have managed to salvage half the leaves by spraying with general bug killer... but it's very weak and I shall cut off any fruit that might appear so that it can put energy back into itself.

Dorset Farm were very informative at the time - shame on my brain for not remembering what the bug is... a quick email to them might produce the answers you need.

Hope this helps!