blueberries

[dragonlady]

can anyone give me some advice please... my blueberries are looking abit poorly most of the leaves and flowers have shrivelled and curled up this has happened on 2 of 4 bushes i would like to sort this before the other 2 go the same way. they are in containers.

[Pippin]

Blueberries are acid loving plants so grow best in an ericacious (acid soil).

That said have your blueberries been in their containers a long time? April has been a very dry and sunny month so if they have not been watered well and regularly they may be suffering because of this.

If the plant is pot bound - that is the roots are really tightly packed in the pot then the centre may have dried out and any water may be just running down between the container side and the planting medium and only watering a small portion of the plant. If you can allow the pot to stand in water for 24hrs.

Feeding may be another problem. A dose of iron sulphate is needed a couple times a year so they get the trace elements and nutrients required plus the conditions to take up the nutrients from the regular feed you give.

I planted mine out into a border which is alkaline but a dug in plenty of compost and fed with iron sulphate. So far they are doing fine.

Pest and diseases may be a factor but it sounds more like maybe a food and drink problem from your short description.

Pippin

[TPeers]

As above or..... has something eaten the roots? An ants nest, vine wevil.

You need to lift one of the affected plants out of its pot and examine the roots - I doubt you will do the plant any more damage than has already occured! Once you examine the roots you may have a better idea if the centre dried out or other damage occured.

If you can't find a thing post some pictures both top and bottom! and perhaps someone will recognise something.

You may find that the plants will recover with some TLC once you know what the problem is, so don't dispair, all is not lost, yet!

[coachman]

Blueberries and phostrogen

Can anyone tell me why 'phostrogen' is not suitable for blueberries ?
Is it just that due to the acid soil, the nutrients are not absorbed ?

[Pippin]

Phostrogen ericaceous plant food is specially formulated for lime hating plants
like Blueberries

Pippin

[micktoo]

I have one small, potted blueberry plant that seems to be at a standstill. do I need another plant of the opposite sex to get fruit? How would I sex the plants? Would they flourish more successfully in the ground at the end of a privet hedge?

[Pippin]

How old is your Blueberry?

Blueberry plants begin to produce fruit in their 3rd season.

They don`t need to be sexed and one bush will produce fruit. But it is recommended that 2 or 3 bushes of different varieties are grown in close proximity to each other which will result in better crops of Blueberries.

Many people grow BB`s in pots successfully. They like an acid soil - pH 4.00 to 4.5 and this is easily controlled in containers.

Make sure the container is large enough and feed the BB`s twice a year with ammonia sulphate - once in late spring and again in late summer as the flower buds form for the following year. If the leaves start yellowing also feed with ferrous sulphate

They like to be kept watered but not deluged - little and often. This can be why they might not grow adequately, containers dry out quickly and infrequent watering might not penetrate into the whole of the root system.

They like to be grown in full sun and not have too much competition from your hedge - six feet away maybe. But remember they like acid soil.

My soil is pH 7.00ish and I have just planted out my 3 varieties of BB`s which are about 4 years old. I prepared the area around their roote with peat, compost and then watered in iron sulphate. I have not done this before - out of containers - so I will be observing with interest.

Pippin

[xspye]

2 of my plants have done the same thing as yours dragon lady, both looked really good in flower and loads of leaves and they have shrivelled and died back in the last 2 weeks. They are a Blue crop and a Blue Gold not sure if yours are the same varitey, I would be really interested if anyone has any ideas, I was wondering if it is a too much water issue, they are all in the same compost (newish & ericaous) and were potted up a couple of months ago so have enough space

[wheatleys wheels]

I am only just starting to grow blueberries myself. All the information I give is not from my own experience as this is my first year at doing this but from other sources like the company I bought my bushes from and from what I have seen of wild blueberry bushes in the states.

I have been told though that to get fruit the pollenation is the biggest issue. I would guess if it's just flowering and not fruiting then try pollenating by hand between bushes.

If it's more than that... e.g. the shhrivelling leaves, plant looks like it's dying etc..... I wonder if there is any way you have sent it back into hibernation mode to start with (as this can happen and if this is the case you wont loose the plant). If this is not possible or unlikely then test the PH of the soil using a ph meter to see if it still has the right acidity. This is important especially if you are using tap water from a lime area to water them. Rain water is best to water them.

I have seen blueberries in the wild in the states and they grow on rocky mountainous areas naturally. So I would gather drainage is important for them. Try not to waterlogg them as I'm not sure they like that. Also they are usually on bear rock... not in shade so sunlight I would believe is important.

I hope this information is useful to you as this is how I'm growing my bushes. So far I've had flowers and the flowers have dropped off but it hasn't died or anything. Dont expect fruit just yet tho as bushes are only about a foot tall and so I belive they might be a bit young. Then again... I might be surprised as I've never grown these before so I am just guessing.

[veggiewomble]

I have observed some larvae crawling on my blueberry bush. Although my blueberry plant isn't exactly dying, its not looking in th ebest of health either. I bought it about 2-3 months ago and planted it in a large bucket on my balcony. Foolishly, I used a mixture of alkiline compost and some sand, but later, dug out and replaced about 30-40% of the compost with ericaceous soil when I learned blueberries liked acidic conditions. During the dry weeks I have been watering with tap water (which is quite high pH) but the last few weeks it has been raining every day so I've left it well alone.

Right after I repotted it, the plant had a lot of new fresh leaves flourishing but now that seems to have stagnated. A lot of white flowers it came with have also fallen away, this is not helped by the birds that come and agitate the branches occasionally! The leaves are partly golden-brown as they emerge - is this normal?

I am not sure whether I should inspect the roots for weevil infestations; not happy about seeing larvae crawling up the plant (which I promptly dispatched with a spade). Its not looking the healthiest of blueberry plants. Or should I endeavour to replace 100% of its compost? Or is it best to watch and wait for now?

veggiewomble

[SimonCole]

I would replace 100% of the compost with an ericaceous mix and only use soft water.

[running_muttley]

I've got 6 blueberry plants, one a bluecrop looks healthy but has no fruit, not a hint of any berries. Can't remember if there was any blossom, there's no sign of any today. The other 5, different varieties, look fine and have plenty of berries. Any idea what could be wrong? Leaves are a nice green. They've been in the ground 3 years, ph is OK, the first year I picked the blossom off as instructed to strengthen the plant and last year the plant fruited well. Bit concerned.

[killjoy]

Whilst they like soft water, is it ok to use water that has gone through the water softner ~ it's just the way my house is plumbed

[SimonCole]

It depends on how good your water softener is. Ideally you want absolutely soft water that makes soap hard to remove from your hands. In my parents house they have a water softener that isn't effective because it is quite old.

[Madasafish]

One of mine has done the same. I dug it up: looks like the roots had not penetrated further than the original peat ball from the original pot. All the rest OK and 4 out of 5 bearing fruit.