I just planted some in the ground based on my online research... so no actual experience yet...
I dug a trench 9 feet long by 1 foot deep by 2.5 feet wide and filled it with Acid soil mix. For my mix I used Fine Bark Nuggets (1/3) Sphagnum moss (1/3) Compost from my bin (1/6) and the rest native soil. I incorporated 2 cups of sulfur and Ironite and also 2 cups of organic fertilizer (blueberries don't like nitrogen from Nitrates) I have some late afternoon shade on my site which I think will be helpful. My basic soil is loam and the ph is 6.5. I am in the SF bay area (zone 9)

Chad

I have a couple of "Sunshine Blue". I used a commercial planting mix formulated for acid loving plants. I mixed it with my garden soil at a 75% (acid mix) to 25% (garden soil) ratio and planted them where they get sun until around 1 or 2 and then shade afterwards. Good drainage, regular water, and I add some soil sulfur once or twice a year in addition to regular fertilization. They are 3 years old and have produced well for me.

On the other hand, I read that 'Sunshine Blue' is not as picky about soil conditions as some of the other varieties. I chose it because it doesn't get as large.

wanda

I did the same as wanda, but 100% azalea/camellia mix. The soil sulpher once a year helps a lot, as does saving rainwater and flushing the area with it to reduce irrigation water hard-water build up. Very good berries and plenty of them, but I must screen in the plants and cover with bird-netting. Birds love them.

Hi there Homes,

I live in Chinatown (downtown L.A. area) where the summer sun is indeed brutal, and out back in the parking area where I have some plants in wine barrels, winter never really seems to arrive at all. The first spring that we lived there (now two years ago), I planted a "misty" blueberry bush against the veranda wall at the west end of our tiny, postage-stamp front yard (I hadn�t yet read the part that says you�re supposed to plant them in pairs to get them to produce better!) next to a Cuban red banana that was just a little corm back then that grew up into a big tree with huge, parasol-like leaves, and then the guava tree in front of the little blueberry bush developed a very dense canopy that summer, which put the blueberry bush in deep shade for almost an entire year.

Nevertheless, little Misty soldiered on and produced a few of the absolute best blueberries I�ve ever tasted. In the meantime I gave the guava tree a serious haircut and bought a companion for Misty, a sharp blue, and the two at this moment are happily producing loads of lovely buds that will no doubt turn into more delicious blueberries. They now get what looks like a reasonable amount of dappled sunlight (as opposed to deep shade), which I�m sure accounts for the recent growth.

As for planting method, I just dug a big hole in the "native" dirt, which in our case is massively heavy, sticky clay that I added a bit of Kellogg�s Amend to, along with some berry food and tried to remember to keep feeding them periodically. I chose their location for the following reason: lack of space. I decided all the perennials should be at the edges of the garden, with the big ones in places where they would not overshadow or otherwise obstruct prime real estate for annual veggies.

I�m sure yours will love it if you do the "by the letter" planting instructions, but my experience (I�m still at the steep end of the learning curve, mind you!) suggests that they should still do ok even if you don�t. Also, my experience seems to suggest that they will tolerate shade, and as you mention, might actually prefer it during the hot season.

Good luck with your berries!

Brenda

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experience! It looks like partial or dappled shade is working out ok for California sun! I am really encouraged to go ahead and plant them in the ground now! Will keep you posted.

do post!!how are the blueberries doing now?

Sadly, I could not get my blueberries to survive in the ground. I think the spot I selected had too many challenges, but most importantly, it dried really fast and keeping the soil moist was a big problem. I did, however, plant a couple extra blueberries in the pot (same large pot as before), and it's doing great. So no more planting in the ground for me!

My neighbors plant in 30 gallon trash cans and the plants have done well for years that way. Our climate is perfect for them, btw, but the gophers will kill them in no time so it is a better investment to keep the roots protected in some way.

They do well in half wine barrels, too - the real oak ones, or the plastic faux barrels. You can plant 3 in one barrel. Azalea mix is good for planting, and you can add cottonseed meal over time to keep the pH low.