At this time of year, highbush blueberries will be leafed out and blooming. It will be difficult to transplant them and keep them alive over the summer. You might be better off keeping them in the pots, on a porch, where they get considerable sunlight, but not the full noonday sun. To prepare a bed for 10 shrubs, you will need about one bag of agricultural sulfur, 50 pounds. This can be found in farm country, where farmers buy sulfur for growing alfalfa. It is too expensive to buy this quantity in those small bags they sell in lawn & garden retail. You will have to get your tap water analyzed for lime/hardness. Watering with rainwater, collected in a rainbarrel, would be best, but I doubt that you could collect enough rainwater for 10 shrubs. That would take a really big roof! When your soil has been prepared with compost and sulfur, you should be able to transplant in the fall, perhaps early November. What state are you located in?

Thanks. I live in New Brunswick Canada. Our warm wheather is not even here yet . The garden centers just open last week lol.

I don't know enough about your local geology to know if you have calciferous soil, or not. Is there limestone in your area? Do you have hard water? The answer to these two questions has much to do with how you proceed. With regard to site selection, blueberries need full sun, all day, for maximum fruiting. They will do better in a location that is less exposed to wind, but they will not thrive in a spot that is continually wet, or swampy. Blueberries will not tolerate dry roots, so you will likely have to carry water once in a while. Best to plant them near the water supply if that is possible. Our soil here in Madison, Wisconsin, is also fairly high in clay, so I mix in composted tree leaves, about 50/50 by volume, with our native soil, when planting blueberries. Others have used composted pine needles, or peat moss, to amend blueberry soil.

I feel your pain, we are a PH7.0. This does not seem to matter to Patriot, but Brigetta will turn red within a week. If you are going to plant this year get the PH down and shade them as best you can.

And with clay dig deeper than you need and put sand in the bottom, and plant the root ball high. This will avoid creating a bowl that just retains water, and it will let the plant roots get a little air. They like water but not sitting in it

Can someone explain how high soil ph causes leaves to appear red? All the literature I have found indicates that when soil ph is too high, the leaves will appear yellow with green veins. Before I planted my berries I acidified the soil with the appropriate amount of sulfur. I also fertilize with ammonium sulfate. I mulch with wood shavings.........and my leaves are red, plants fail to grow. Some plants have berries. Soil tests indicate plenty of P, K and Mag. Tests also show my ph is still high at 6.5. But my leaves are not yellow! What does sulfur poisoning look like? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Marc

My best bet i think is to plant them close to a great big pine tree i have on my lot. That tree is healthy and there is little trees coming up and lots of pine needles on the ground. A ph test indicated around 6 maybe a little less and the ground is less likely to dry out but is never boggy. So far thats how i think i'll go. 2 negatives are its close to the road and far from our house so kids and birds will get more berries than us i am afraid.

I believe that Ohio has limestone underground, throughout the state. Chances are that the well water will contain dissolved limestone, that is, the water is hard. Watering blueberry shrubs with hard water will raise soil pH, and disrupt the roots. The roots will not be able to absorb the nutrients in the soil. Watering with rainwater would be the best solution, but not everyone has a rainbarrel. Here in Madison, Wisconsin, I add 6 fluid ounces of white vinegar to every 4 gallons of tap water that I use on our blueberry shrubs. This is vinegar from the grocery store, 5% acidity. It is true that the vinegar will be broken down and consumed by soil bacteria, but this takes a month or so. By that time, the agricultural sulfur that is in the soil will be providing some pH lowering, so it works out OK.