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rjinga

Blueberry growers in GA

17 years ago

anyone willing to share their good and not so good experience with buying plants from growers in GA who advertise on the market bulletin, craigslist?

It seems to be such a crap shoot to me, that maybe if we could share with each other the experiences we have had, it might help others. Not having really any experience in identifying a good plant vs a not so good plant, a tutorial in this area would also be a good help.

I know many people just buy the body bag plants from the box stores, but I have not had any luck whatsoever with those, so buying from a grower seemed like a better option.

Comments (6)

  • 17 years ago

    Johnsons will ship fruit to you. That is who we use at the store where I work, and I really like them. Everything comes in a very nice sized container and is a very healthy plant. We've bought a fair number of plants from them and have been pleased with every single one!

    GGG

  • 17 years ago

    I have had really good experience buying plants on eBay. There are some jerks, of course, but they tend to get weeded out by the ratings system.

    Just the other day I saw someone selling blueberry plants: ten plants, two each of five different varieties for about thirty dollars. They looked small but healthy. Looked like a Georgia grower and the varieties were consistent with plants that some of my neighbors grow.

  • 17 years ago

    I 2nd the positive experience with Johnsons. They rock! Their plant quality is excellent and so is their customer service.

    I've bought from them several times.

    Dora

  • 17 years ago

    i just bought two AU Rosa plums and two montmorency cherries from Johnsons as well, and it was a pleasant experience.

    i will say, though - we literally just bought three or four varieties of blueberry (6 plants, total?) from Pike Nursery, and they were/aree nice plants, very happy with them. I can't remember all the varieties (i have the cards somewhere - climax, premier, tifblue and bluebell?), but we were happy with the quality of product. i think the nursery name on the plants was something like 'wildwood'?

  • 17 years ago

    I bought three jumbo blueberry plants from Gurney's for about $4 a piece. They were basically sticks when they arrived, but they did start to leaf out nicely once potted. However, I don't expect that we'll get much out of them for a couple of years. Since I'm not generally a very patient sort, I then went over to Pike's & bought four healthy bushes. Two were rabbiteye varieties (one was a Climax, I think, and I believe the other was a Woodward) and I'm pretty sure that the other two were a new variety by Monrovia called "Sunshine Blue". The Sunshine Blue's did nicely & produced a lot of large, tasty fruit. The rabbiteye varieties really didn't do very well; the berries were tiny & shriveled -- possibly a result of the drought, but I didn't want to wait another year & see, so I dug them up & returned them since Pike guarantees the plants for a year. If I were to do it again, I would probably skip buying the bushes from Gurney's altogether & just go straight to Pike's. You get what you pay for, as they say.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Sunshine Blue Blueberry

  • 17 years ago

    You might check with your local UGA Extension Agent to determine which varieties are recommended for Home Gardens in your area. They also have some very good publications available that will assist in establishing and maintaining blueberrries.
    Here's a link that you can use to find your local Agent (if needed). Enter your ZIP Code in the window on the panel at the left of the page.
    They can probably recommend a reliable nearby source of plants.
    Rb

    Here is a link that might be useful: UGA Cooperative Extension

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