That sounds like a good mix.I've read just about everywhere to prune them after they go dormant and before they blossom in the spring and also to wait til the third year to do it.Hope they grow.Brady

That Legacy bush looks fantastic, I too have some Jewels,they definitely like to grow in roundabout fashion,(awesome winter interest) my guess is that they grew and were stored very close to each other.Forcing the bush to get light anywhere they could. Right after my Jewel fruited I trimmed it up well, and opened up the center of the bush, the last two months the bush has filled out nicely with a lot of new growth, forget neutral this guy is in third gear.

Your Jewel does not look healthy at all, can you take a couple of close up pictures of the leaves?

Here is a shot or two of one of my Jewels. I was expecting rain for two days hence the small pile of fert sitting there.

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melikeeatplants,
I thought of something else.Did the plants come bare root or in a pot and if in a pot,were the root balls broken or loosened up a bit at the bottom before planting? Brady

Melikeplants,
Start with a ph test to be sure. 4.5-5.5 preferably. (Not sure about your water) Your mix might be drawing nitrogen away from plants as it decomposes.
It looks like a nitrogen deficiency, with the reddening of the leaves. Do your pots drain nutrients out regularly? Nitrogen moves with water. Is your water high in Ph/CaCO? When watering and in general it's a lot eisier to raise the ph than lower it when using water sources that aren't ph controlled.
Test the legacy, it's ph might be on its way up. Give it a shot of fish emulsion (per instructions) 5-1-1 or similar, diluted in gallon of water and add 1/4 cup of vinegar to be sure. Nitrogen tweakage will prolly dictate success in your case. They like a little kelp too. Good choice with Legacy. Check other container growing posts as there are awesome ones in the past 2 months. I'd cut those 2 leaning canes in half during 'winter' time. Northern Cali, Ha! some winter...
Noogy

Since you are using drip irrigation, the pH of your water supply is important. You might be able to get this information from the water authority, or you might have to take a sample and test it yourself. The least expensive way of testing pH is with an aquarium water pH test kit, which would be sold at a pet store.

I would spread that little pile of white fertizer around more. It looks rather concentrated and close to the stem. Iron sulfate works well for me to get them to green up. Best wishes with your bushes!
Northwoodswis

I have since done that, i truly was expecting torrential downpours for two days, lousy weathermen, and was busy with work, so i just chucked it out there and kinda half-assed it into the mulch.

With rain expected today as well, I might go out later and scratch it in some more.

Be careful as the vinegar is of short duration and has to be used regularly in container use. Sulfuric acid is better, but the automotive battery stuff could have lead. Ammonium sulfate can help keep the ph trend downward. There are some other posts utilizing more technical chemical jargon, but this works for my 280+ potted babies in 8" pots. I also have been getting a bit of acid leaning rain, use a peat mix with perlite, and 1" of pine chips/needles over the top to keep them cool, and keep an eye on them closely, watering them when they need it. Good luck with the berries. Looks like you'll be eating some Legacy soon.
Noogy

I don't know the PH of my water but San Jose(my city water service) does test it's water from various locations and they range from 7.3 to 8.7 . It's the dry season here so the only water the berries get for 3 months or so is tap. Why would the Legacy be flush though and the others not? It's the same potting mix and water as the others. None of the plants were bought bare root. The Jewel and other poor performers were mail ordered from Arkansas and were dormant upon arrival. The Legacy is from a local Costco (Oregon nursery though) and was in bloom at time of purchase.

More pics below. So you think higher PH would keep it from leafing out and sending new shoots?

Jewel Leaves

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Jewel - Canes leaning

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Another southern highbush

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And another

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Legacy

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My experience growing blueberries here in Madison, Wisconsin, has convinced me that blueberry transplants need 6 months to a year for the root system to become fully established. However, if the shrub is fertilized early on, it will put on growth above ground, and that growth will tend to die back in the heat of summer, during the first year. It seems that the leaves can outgrow the roots in spring and early summer. There are two ways to avoid this. You can avoid application of fertilizer during the first 6 months, and you can partially shade the shrub during July and August. If you can get the shrub through the first season, these issues tend to go away-it will recover and do well if the damage was not too severe.

Melikeeatplants- Even in higher ph readings the plant will absorb N, but not iron, which leads to some chlorosis on new growth also. Gee, you've got a stumper in terms of medium control. Maybe the Jewel doesn't tolerate chlorine well, if there's chlorine in the water.
Sometimes my plants turn reddish from water shortage. Check 2" below line. Any air pockets? just a guess.
Good luck
Noogy

Bumping thread. I disconnected the blueberries from the drip and have been manual watering for 3 days mixing some vinegar with my tap water and the blueberries have started to respond. I saw some new shoots pop up on a few of them and one even started some flowers. So this makes me think PH is the issue.

The blues are in half-wine barrels. Assuming the PH is 7-8.5 (which is based on the city's water pH tests, not my actual soil). How do I get it lower without having to keep watering with vinegar everyday. How much sulfuric acid (or something else) should go into a half-wine barrel (30 gallon container) with 7-8 ph?

Thanks

Blueberries don't respond to pH or nitrogen in 3 days. They could respond some to water in 3 days but not with new shoots, just perk up a bit.

To me your plants look short on water and nitrogen. The drip probably wasn't applying enough water and/or wasn't wetting enough soil volume. The best way to make them grow is by dissolving 21-0-0, ammonium sulfate, in rain water, one tablespoon per 3-5 gallons. Apply this once a week until water runs out of the pot. In between water enough that there is drainage at least once a week of plain rainwater. With this regime the plants will initiate rapid growth in 6-8 weeks, not 3 days.

Vinegar will work in the short term with municipal water. Lower the water pH to 4.5. Apply sulfur for long term pH reduction, maybe 3 tablespoons per pot.

If you want to use sulfuric acid, lower the municipal water to pH 4.5 and water with that until media pH lowers and sulfur kicks in.

You at the very least need some pH indicator strips to check water pH.

Here is a link that might be useful: 4-7 pH strips

Be careful if using the sulfuric acid.In some earlier posts,some people talk about mixing it and the ratios involved using battery acid bought from auto parts stores,I believe fruitnut being one of them.
I recently purchased an EZ-Flow fertigation 3 gallon tank and add 3/4 to 1 gallon of vinegar and the rest water to drip feed about 20 plants.I figure that amount should last about a month.Brady

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:123503}}

If it responds to your hand watering, then the water from your drip irrigation did not spread to large enough area.

Fruitnut/TC...you guys gave me a revelation. It must be the water then if it's too soon to respond to vinegar. I'll change the drippers on it so it spreads the water more. Will report back.

Thanks

The problem you are having is from PH, guarantee it. I have 45 or so bb plants currently and you may be in CA and I in Florida but we share something in common, high native PH water.

Here is the problem......water hits your soil mix and it acidifies it over time, a couple days and it then gets to a point that the plant is happy. You though on drip are constantly, daily, hitting the soil with high PH water so the soil never gets a chance to acidify that water. I don't know your climate but what I would do is hit that soil mix with enough water to saturate it then no water until the mix begins to dry. You never want the mix to become dry but if you could cut the watering back to once a week or twice a week instead of daily the plants will be happier.

The picture you show is definitely not from lack of water. Water stress will show as blotches of red then brown in the last third of the leaf and will not be concentrated at the leaf margins. It is also not from a lack of N....the first indicator the plant is low on N is small red spots on the leaves like they were sprinkled with coarse paprika.

If BB get what they want they will reward you with phenomenal growth. I put in some new bare root plants (sweet crisps) last fall and pruned them. This spring I pruned them again to 12" just before bud break. Half of the plants now have shoots that are 5 feet tall and quite thick. Those wild growing shoots are called bull shoots and are a great indicator the plant is happy.

For those of us in the warm climates make sure you prune those BB right after they finish producing fruit, here in FL that is end of May. Fertilize a few days before you prune. The plants will reward you with an extra flush of growth and due to our long growing season that new growth has enough time to mature and create flower buds for the following spring.