Very nice blueberries Gary. I hope my plants get that big. How many different varieties do you have?

Well, they certainly got their needed chill hours this year!

They look great. I just got my first plant so any information you can give me would be wonderful. I'm thinking about putting it in a pot. How do you think it would do there?

Murahilin, I made this 42'blueberry bed and have some rabbit eyes: Aliceblue, brightwell, tifblue. The last one has a high rated chill hour, so it'll be an experiment. For southern highbush, I have 4 emerald, gulfcoast, misty, maybe one other var. Dollar weed has gotten all into that bed, too many to fight it seems.

Gary

Should be fine if the soil is done right. Peat moss and pine bark fines should succeed as a mix. Make sure that they don't dry out.

Gary

I am glad to know I am not the only one with dollar weed. I pull it every day. I cut back on the watering and that seems to help. Good luck with your berries.

I bought a small blueberry plant at a gardenfare in Feb and left it in its pot. It's doing well & have flowers & some berries. Last week it had 3 dark blue berries then suddenly they disappeared. I think it may have been the birds. How can I "protect" the ripening berries? Is it better to plant it in the ground? It's only +- 3ft tall. Thanks.

fern

To me a plant is almost always better in the ground. But for a BB, only if you're going to give it it's desired soil (mentioned above), unless you have an organic acid soil already. Some type of net, perhaps over a tomato cage which surrounds the plant might work, or whatever frame you can make.

Gary

BB's are one of my favorite things in life. Think at the moment we have 31 or so plants and perhaps 9 different varieties I suppose. The best find thogh were those 8-10 year old plants in 25 gallon pots for $10 each. I use a mix of year old rotted wood chips. peat and pine fines but I do add sulphur to maintain the ph and I add muratic acid to the water I use to water them. I sccop water out of the lake we live on with the front end loader and then add the muratic acid to that to make the water more acidic. Yes the plants are spoiled:)

Mine are loaded with blossoms and fruit. I sprayed them with a worm castings tea as a foliar spray and they made another big bunch of flowers and new growth. Thay look very happy. I have them in shagnum and pine bark.

My Sunshine Blues which are in large containers have some nice clusters of berries which are gradually ripening. A few of the berries are quite large. I just covered them with old nylon knee highs because the birds have their eyes on them, too.

I have the plants in a mixture of good potting soil (nitrate free), peat, crushed and regular pine bark, and mushroom compost. Every few months I put a small amount of Azalia fertilizer on them and organic garden sulphur. I keep the soil quite moist as well.

These strange white beetles were becoming a problem by eating the leaves so I sprinkled them with Bayer's complete garden dust. It seems to help.

Happy gardening,

Sheri