Don't know if this helps, but I bought a bush from Hartmann. It was small. And it died. They gave me a mature replacement although I didn't ask.

Maybe you could call them and work something out.

find a good nursery!
where are you?
Lowe's has some good ones this year...not much variety though.

Googling "new jersey blueberry bushes" gave me this link:

http://www.dimeofarms.com/

Dimeo Farms is down in Hammonton, NJ but looks like they might have 4-6 foot mature plants for sale. I have never dealt with them so don't know their quality.

Remember to get your soil right (super acidic) before planting!

I know that you can purchase mature blueberry bushes here in Oregon, but I suspect that $200 for shipping a live plant that size is a real bargain. It would have to go freight, and it would be a very large and heavy package, indeed.

By the time you actually find a large blueberry bush, you could probably buy a small one and grow it up to size yourself.

You might drive out to a U-pick and ask if they will sell you a mature plant. For enough money to make it worth their while, I am sure they would be interested.

I'd be afraid that a plant that age growing in a pot would be badly root bound. If you dug one, you'd need an enormous root ball, and it would be heavy to move.

I've seen this thread for several days now and wondered why no one has asked the obvious question, "Why do you want 10 year old plants?"

Young blueberries are fairly precocious, and BB plants have a limited productive life. Ten years starts to carve into that.

Additionally, there are some who have had difficulty transplanting older bushes (although from past posts Hman -an experienced fruitier'- has had no difficulty transplanting 10 year old bushes. But even he has mentioned there is a one or two year reduction in production).

Still, if I was looking for blueberry bushes to purchase, 10 year old bushes would be the last thing to enter my mind.

In general terms, save yourself some heartache and order some new plants from a reputable nursery.

Daaang!!! I just looked through the G WD site's review of Dimeo Blueberry Farms. Those guys (Dimeo) have scam artists written all over them. Even their own notes raise red flags like crazy. I think I'd feel dirty just driving in their parking lot, and I'd bet that I'd have better odds in Vegas than sending them any money for mail-order.

thanks for the good info everyone!

i actually found a place in pemberton, nj called grovers blueberries. basically its an older guy selling blueberry bushes out of his back yard which might sound kinda shady but i drove down there yesterday afternoon with my girlfriend and it was a good experience. randy is the owner and hes a pretty cool guy with loads of helpful bb information and will spend as much time with you as you need.

he carries a wide variety of bb bushes that are in fair condition and most bushes are 2-4 yrs old(prices ranged from $15-$25)but the best part of my visit was when i found out that he had 7-8 yr old mature bb bushes for sale for only $35 each. only problem that i had was that all of these mature bushes are the same variety(bluejay) kinda wish he had other mature varieties.

all in all i drove away happy with four 4-5' mature blueberry bushes that look pretty damn good. wish i could figure out how to post pictures on this forum so i could show people.

olpea-
from what i was told most blueberry bushes dont reach full maturity until about 8-10 yrs old and can live and be productive for up to 60 yrs...the reason i want older bb bushes is because they produce the most blueberries once mature.

sharppa-
in early april i went to dimeo farms and their bushes were good quality and the prices were decent for the 3 yr old stock($25) but they grow them in such tight clusters that most of the bushes were tall and lanky. the bushes were worth buying but the service was crappy. anthony dimeo acts like a huge tool bag and if you met him you would know what i mean. i really just wanted to pay for the bushes and get out of there fast.

brandon7-
i also just got done reading the reviews on dimeo blueberry farms and those negative comments are funny as hell.

like i was saying before anthony dimeo acts like a huge tool and i would only buy bushes from them again if he wasnt there. he just seems like a snake. but their bushes are pretty good so if anyone wants to purchase from them i would recommend going there and picking out the healthiest looking bushes yourself. that way you can avoid getting a couple sticks in a box lol

Good Luck with your mature bushes. I bought 3 years bushed from Dgrandchamp farm in Michigan and they doing very well. I learned my lessons for planting mature plants. Some one offered me 15 years old Fig tree for Free. I spent bundle of money to hire labor to dig it up and transported 40 miles. My younger Fig trees are growing and very happy and produced some nice Figs. This old tree is so sad and I wonder if it will survive. I think its root got big shock hope it will recover.

Apex,

Since you've already purchased the plants it's a moot point. If interested, below is one thread where this was discussed.

Commercial plantings generally reach prime at 5 years and 25 years is generally their recommended life span, although obviously much older plantings are in existence.

Here is a link that might be useful: Transplanting old blueberries

Sounds like you found the perfect place to purchase blueberries. They are often difficult to establish and getting those larger plants can really be a blessing if you take good care and don't let them dry out. The guy's practically giving the plants away- they are tough plants to produce because of water demands.

Considering that blueberries usually don't produce much until they're about 5 years old I don't think there's any down side in purchasing 7 or 8 year old plants.

Full disclosure: I make a big part of my living selling bearing age fruit trees so I'm not completely impartial.

Im hoping this pic works so you guys can see my mini blueberry patch!

Finally got it! let me know what you think
{{gwi:125425}}

Those are very good looking plants. You have made a good buy. But they are the same size as my 1-2 yr old plants growing in pots. They aren't hard to get to that size. My mature potted plants are bigger. I'm talking 15 gallon pots.

most of those bushes are 2-3 yr old. only 3 of those bushes are 7-8 yrs old with one 5 yr old duke somewhere in the mix.

this is a picture of what the bushes looked like in early june of this year
{{gwi:125426}}

The smallest plants were no steal as you could have gotten better size with shipped dormant plants for under $10 each but the largest plants are a good buy compared to what you would have paid at a standard nursery.

The thing is that now you won't get a good mix of early, mid and late bearers. You need some Elliots or maybe a new variety that bears as late (some here have complained about El's flavor although it tastes fine as grown in southeastern NY).

so far i have...

4-bluejay
3-duke
2-bluecrop
2-earliblue
2-patriot
1-bluegold
1-elliott
1-jersey
1-chandler
1-oneal
1-tifblue
1-brigitta
1-elizabeth
1-briteblue
1-northsky
1-coville

i also have a couple unknown blueberry bushes that i received from a friend.

I like to have 25% Elliot in a stand or another variety that's as late. Here that usually assures a nice crop in Sept although this year it was done sooner. Elliot still provided the greatest gap filler of any variety I grow by far.

if you still looking for mature plants ... i just bought sevral 6 year old plants from www.berriesunlimited.com .... huge bushes ... and they were shiped potted wrapped in pine shavings ... awesome ... i have also ordered from dimao farms and got wimmpy plants .. but im temted to take the drive because he's sellin huge plants right now

everyone probably already knows this, but here tis anyway, since BB's like acidic soil, i like to mulch with pine straw. The acidity in the straw will normally leach into the soil over time, so makes a good natural amender, if your soil needs more acid.

pearlman-

I have bought a couple blueberry bushes from dameo, unfortunately they didnt have the mature bushes at that time, but they plants I purchased were pretty nice and they were only $10. I have heard they are not so good with shipping bb bushes so I took the hour drive to their farm to pick up the bushes myself. I think its better to pick up the plants in person because you are able to hand pick the biggest and best looking bushes instead of having them to just throw any bb bush in a box.

I have checked out berriesunlimited and they seem legit. I just ordered a couple Rubel blueberry bushes from them the other day, and I cannot wait to get them!

As for mature bushes, I would rather buy 3 smaller bushes for the same price as one large mature bush. Unless the mature bush is dirt cheap ill pass. I wish you luck with your blueberries this coming summer and hope they produce tons of berries!

grumpy-

Although your comment is random I appreciate the tip. I keep my BB bushes in containers and pine straw is a little too messy for me.

sorry it seemed random, i was going by the comments on acidity issues, that were actually in a different posting, i'm a bit slow on the uptake, read posts then think of something and presto post from left field to follow.

for ground planted bushes though they are basically compost by the end of a season if laid down in fall as a wintering mulch. they also help clay from drying out to much so water is better absorbed.( may have to be careful of overwatering though)

I would strongly recommend against buying anything from DiMeo Farms in Hammonton. I just drove 1.5 hours (each way) to buy some bushes, and was really looking forward to buying local(ish) and supporting new Jersey Agriculture. However, I found Anthony DiMeo III to be the single most rude and obnoxious merchant I have ever dealt with, and I've lived in New York and New Jersey all my life. I opened my car door, and he yelled at me to come over to him, demanding I give him my variety choice immediately. I said, "well - I'd like an early variety, a..." he stopped me and barked "I'm a millionarire, and a 4th generation farmer, and I don't need small sales like you." I said I was considering the following 5 varieties (x.y.z...) and he spit out "you can only have 3 varieties". I was speechless. He then told me to drive my car over to some location, and I did. I stated my 3 varieties. He WOULD NOT let me choose the bushes, directing his worker to choose for me, who chose spindly single or double branched bushes. The worker started roughly shoving them into my car. I protested, and said I would load them myself: "just let me pay, and I will load them myself". He said "I am a millionaire, a 4th generation farmer, and i don't have time for this" .At one point in his psychotic tirade i asked him "have I said or done something to insult you?" I then asked him to point out which of the bushes were which variety, as he had just thrown them together into one group, and with complete exasperation he said "are you kidding?" In between all of this I told him that I had just driven 1.5 hours to support NJ agriculture. I've only covered the highlights of the abusive 10 minutes I spent at this place; there's much, much more. Finally, I had enough and told him "I can't believe I just drove so far to do business with such a #$@#$%", and we terminated the transaction mutually. If this guy had bushes that produced 24K berries, I wouldn't buy from him. A rude, arrogant, dismissive, insulting, psych job. If you hate your job, hate your customers and have millions of dollars - get out!

Whatever you do, DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM DIMEO FARMS. THEY ARE TOTALLY UNREASONABLE. They have an absolute no refund policy after they take your check ONLY ! Their website is great, but they don't deliver! Check all the reviews before you order.

We have lots of mature bushes loaded with berries located in Pemberton twp NJ feel free to contact us 609-346-5867 or email @ johnmarold@icloud.com

Terrible experience with DIMEO BLUEBERRY FARMS.

I gave them every chance to resolve and they were VERY RUDE.