Blueberry Bush Pot Size?

[SusieG]

Got my blueberry bush yesterday, 'Jersey' which is about 18" tall and is standing in a tallish, slender pot at the moment.

I've never had a fruit bush before, and am wondering if I need to put it straight into its final pot size, or do they need 'potting on' .......?

And how big should the pot/tub be that it finally is to be planted in ....?

Plastic/terracotta/wood? Help!!

[Kirk]

I have mine in a pot about 18-20" across and similar height and it really needs bigger. It is plastic, and very little in the way of drainage holes. I have it like that to minimise water loss and they seem happy in damp soil also - not a bad as cranberry but moisture is not a problem and getting dry is. The large(r) pot is so that it has a reasonable chance of remaining damp even if I run out of rain water. Used tap water once and it did more damage then the drought.

The diameter, depth, minimal drainage and plastic are to retain a damp compost as much as I can.

Did buy 2 larger pots, never transferred it yet and I have constructed a wall and made a "container" bed in that which is 3 foot long, and 2x2 feet in other dimensions which I will likely drop it into.

Pot size may be dependant on whether you expect to move it at times and filling one with ericacious compost - blueberry's really dislike non-acid anything - makes it heavy. I top mine up with whatever I can find that adds to the acidity.

[SusieG]

Thanks Kirk, so bigger is better, eh...!!!

I have a (what I think to be) really large black plastic tub with drainage holes - it's one that was in the garden, so it's oldish. Looks to be in good condition - no signs of splitting anywhere .....
Safe to use ?..... It measures : dia.18 1/2" Height. 13"
Does the size of the pot dictate how big the bush is likely to grow, or is it dependant on variety..??


And I'm not sure of whereabouts it's going to live yet, so I'd probably need to be able to move it once filled .....

Does it need to have bits of stones at the bottom of the pot (do you cover the drainage holes, always wondered about that.....?)?

Stuff that adds acid: apart from the ericaceous compost - I've read used teabags are useful, anything else you'd recommend ..?

Loads of questions!!!

[Penellype]

I have 2 blueberry bushes bought in 2011 and 2013. The older one (Bluecrop) is in a large plastic bucket, probably 35-40 litres, and is very happy. The younger bush (Dixie) is in a 25 litre plastic pot and is fine, although I do keep it pruned to a smaller size because of limitations on space. they are different varieties, the 2nd one bought because apparently although blueberries are self fertile and one bush will produce fruit, you get more and bigger fruit if you have 2 different sorts. I got plenty of fruit from Bluecrop before I bought Dixie, and it is hard to know whether the increase in yield since is due to bigger bushes or cross pollination!



Dixie (left) and Bluecrop - the larger bush is about 4ft tall.

If you are going to keep it in a pot I would suggest plastic because as has been said, they like to be wet, and both terracotta and wood lose water through the sides of the pot because they can "breathe". Terracotta would also be incredibly heavy - I would recommend getting a bucket type pot with handles to make moving it easier. I have mine on those wheeled trolley things which I find helps, and I keep them sitting on water trays while they have leaves so they dry out less quickly.

Acid soil is essential so water with rain water only, they tolerate shade well and prefer to be wet than dry. If you want to eat your blueberries you will have to net them or the birds will strip off the fruit. Leave the fruit on the bush for a few days after it turns purple - it should come away from its stalk reasonably easily when it is ready to pick - you can often see the skin of the fruit around the stalk pulling away slightly when they are really ripe. Mine fruit from late July to mid October, so don't expect all the fruit to be ready at the same time.

[Penellype]

Thanks Kirk, so bigger is better, eh...!!!

I have a (what I think to be) really large black plastic tub with drainage holes - it's one that was in the garden, so it's oldish. Looks to be in good condition - no signs of splitting anywhere .....
Safe to use ?..... It measures : dia.18 1/2" Height. 13"
Does the size of the pot dictate how big the bush is likely to grow, or is it dependant on variety..??


And I'm not sure of whereabouts it's going to live yet, so I'd probably need to be able to move it once filled .....

Does it need to have bits of stones at the bottom of the pot (do you cover the drainage holes, always wondered about that.....?)?

Stuff that adds acid: apart from the ericaceous compost - I've read used teabags are useful, anything else you'd recommend ..?

Loads of questions!!!

The bigger of my pots is about 16" across by 13" deep so yours should be fine. I think the size of the pot will restrict growth somewhat but you should get a decent sized bush in that pot. You can prune off excess growth in the winter if it gets too big.

I never bother with stones or crocks at the bottom of pots - I've heard that they do more harm than good, and they take up space that would otherwise be compost for the plant to grow in. They also make the pot very heavy. If the holes are big, cover them loosely with a bit of broken pot or something to stop the compost from falling out.

Coffee grounds are acidic - I put mine on the blueberries.

[SusieG]

Thanks Penellype - I'm a bit worried now - yesterday when my blueberry bush arrived, I settled it in and as the compost was dry-ish, I watered it ...... WITH TAP WATER!!!!!

the water I used had been standing in my watering can overnight in the GH, so wasn't cold - so what does tap water do to the plant ....? Hope I've not signed it's death warrant..!!!

[bario1]

It's not the temperature of the water that's a problem, Susie - its the PH. If you have hard water in your area then the water will contain a lot of lime, and blueberries are lime-haters. Do you have a water butt you can water them from?

[bario1]

Ive got five blueberry bushes (bought this year), and mine are only in 6" pots - will they be ok in these until next spring?

[Penellype]

Thanks Penellype - I'm a bit worried now - yesterday when my blueberry bush arrived, I settled it in and as the compost was dry-ish, I watered it ...... WITH TAP WATER!!!!!

the water I used had been standing in my watering can overnight in the GH, so wasn't cold - so what does tap water do to the plant ....? Hope I've not signed it's death warrant..!!!

Its the dissolved minerals (mainly lime) in tap water that are the problem. As a rule of thumb, if you get a lot of limescale in your kettle (as I do) the water is "hard" which means alkaline, and has been seeping through limestone or chalk before arriving at your tap. I don't know the geology of the midlands well enough to know if you would have hard water.

I doubt one watering would kill the plant, unless it was very alkaline. Blueberries (and cranberries) are peat bog plants and apparently have no root hairs (which absorb water in other plants). They need the acid environment in order to absorb water, otherwise you can get the strange situation of a plant sitting in a puddle yet dying of lack of water.

If you are really worried you could give it a little water with a few drops of lemon juice in as this will be acid, but don't overdo it. The difference between alkaline soil and acid soil is nothing like the difference between pure acid and pure alkali.

[Ryez]

I have my blueberries in 40-45 cm pots. There hasn't been much rain so my water collecting buckets are empty and I have no choice but using tap water. I have mulched them with bark in hope that I will need to water them less.

My understanding is that tap water will change the soil PH but I don't know if it also directly disturbs the roots of the plant. Plant roots tend to feed through the soil, so maintaining the soil PH is important. I guess I will have to top it up with more ericaceous soil and I have also mixed organic ericaceous fertilizer.

I read about using lemon or vinegar i.e a small spoonful in my 10 L watering can should hopefully do it, so I will try that too.

[SusieG]

Penellype - defo got hard water where I live here .... I haven't got a water butt, but I could still collect rainwater using say, an old plastic dustbin or similar...?? Or does it have to be covered.....?

Do you think I ought to add a couple of drops of lemon juice to the compost or in the saucer underneath the pot today, then ......?

[Penellype]

I wouldn't add lemon juice directly, I'd add it to some water and water with that. You are talking very subtle changes in acidity, not huge swings.

If you don't cover your water you will breed large numbers of mosquitos. What I do is catch as much rain water as i can in buckets and trays put out when rain is forecast, and store it in a dustbin in my garage with a lid on it. I then use that only for the blueberries during the summer.

[Kirk]

For acidity peat is the obvious one, but not exactly easy to get I have noticed. Read that sawdust is good and also that pine needles are good to raise the acidity. I have added sawdust to mine and it is still alive.

Haven't tried pine needles specifically to any extent. I would most likely put them as small twigs through the shredder first, then add that to whatever compost.

If you can get a water butt and collect rain water it is almost necessary. When I had tropical fish there was a way of taking tap water and adding peat blockes to thet to make the water more acidic. Should be about right but never tried, even with the fish. Guess it would mean leaving the peat block in the container for a few days.

You can get an ericaceous plant food/fertiliser was produced by Miracle Gro, bright green colour. Not sure if still available as I have had mine quite some years. I assume it either maintains thje acidity or hopefully increases it a bit.

Blueberries are "easy" they want acid soil, rain water and a big pot. Trouble I have found is vary from that and they throw a wobbly. And it is too easy to assume that an occasional litre or two of tap water will be OK. It won't.

[Martin H]

Homebase and Miracle Gro both do a slow-release ericaceous feed. No prizes for guessing which one is cheaper. I keep meaning to buy some for my sickly Camellia, then forgetting.

[SusieG]

I have bought some ericaceous compost and also some feed, so hoping that'll help settle my new Jersey in here .....!
Also, need it to rain so's I can fill a bucket to give my new baby a drink ......
Just never satisfied .....