I did find this info helpful for gardening in Colorado...

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:RJ9Zl9WC6ckJ:www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columngw/grgdniq.html+colorado+state+extension+blueberries&hl=en

Don't even try unless you like frustration. Yes, you can make an acid soil in containers, but how do you control the alkaline water? Add vinegar each time you water?

It is a pretty plant and if treated as a novelty and "impossible" challenge, go for it. Just don't plan on a cobbler.

Blueberries live in acidic bogs, sort of the opposite of here. However, I'm doing it with some success, but I only have 6 plants. I hollowed out an area between a sidewalk and the house, about 2 feet deep, and filled it with a mix of peat moss and soil, about 2:1 peat to soil. Every year I have to top it off with another bag of moss. Then, one has to keep the soil very moist all the time as the roots lack rootlets, I do this by hanging petunias in baskets over them which require just about daily watering. Even still, this is the first year that they are actually covered with blossoms, and we had one of the soggiest years in a long time. So, keeping them soggy all winter long helps too.

Is it worth it? My 7 yr old daughter thinks so.

Wow, David, I never thought about making a bog! I tried growing blueberries here one year - yearning for my old Vermont cabin days when I could walk out of the cabin and pick wild blueberries for breakfast. Delicious! Certainly not bog plants where I saw them growing wild and native -they were very low growing plants so perhaps a different type from the ones you are growing.

Unfortunately, the blueberries I tried to grow here not only didn't thrive but died pretty quickly. Definitely not happy!

Holly

I hate to admit this but I was obsessed with trying to grow them. It took me five years (and many dead plants) to relalize our water was also a high PH. I still have 3 in the ground that gets 3 applications yearly of aluminum sulfate at the recoemended rate. They are growing OK - about 3 cups of berries in their 3rd year (2004).
But here is the the trick - if you really must have fresh blueberries from your garden - plant them in large containers filled with peatmoss only! This works very well. I harvested about 6 cups of berries from two plants their second year. I am so excited about this I am trying our native blueberries (Hucklberries) the same way this year. I use an acid fertilzer watered down once or twice a month. I also mixed aluminum sulfate with some compost as a mulch during the hot part of the summer. They are loving it. They like afternoon shade in the hottest part of the summer.
Good Luck, rk

I may be wrong, but I seem to recall reading that aluminum sulfate is a bad idea for food crops.

Holly, now that I think of it, we used to pick wild blueberries in Idaho in the mountains, and they sure were not growing in a swamp.

rk, mine are on the north westish side of the house where they get blasted by the late afternoon sun, where do you place your containers?

(my first entry ever on gardenweb)

We purchaced two highland blueberries from Albertsons Supermarket out of all places. We put them in last summer and they yielded about 1/2 cup. This year they are full of blossems so it's looking hopeful.

I water them daily and they are placed on the west side of the house in my wet garden so they get afternoon to late evening sun. They are practically under two pines so I think they like the needles. I haven't done much else, only ammended the soil about five years ago when I first put in the bed.

Very interesting. We've had three blueberry bushes that have been struggling for a couple of years now. This spring the first plant that hubby had bought finally died. I told him he should dig them up and plant them in one of my old wisky barrels. He did transplant them to a barrel with lot's of peatmoss, so I'm hopeful after reading the other posts. One of the plants does have blossoms on it. Who knows maybe well actually get a blueberry or two this year.

Yep. They are one of the best things you can put in your body. Especially if they are organic. Great stuff on this site about them. Here is some more great information I got off of Citygardening.net

Try to buy a 2-3 year plant as one year old plant have a high mortality rate. Plant at least 4' apart and if you are going to prune, do it in early spring. Blueberries are pretty much disease free but can get fungus and viruses. They like sandy loam or sandy peat and if they are to be deficient in anything it will be nitrogen. Don't add nitrogen late in summer because the growth may cause winter injury.

They will turn blue ONE WEEK before you harvest so hands off! When they are ripe they will simply fall into your hand when touched. Perfect huh? Oh and of course you can dry, can, or freeze them.

I am looking for v.pallidum which is a wild low blueberry that is suppose to be able to fruit even in dry shade,
Does anybody have a source to purchase these??

I have been researching blueberries to find some to grow in my yard. I found that there are many kinds of blueberries, each with their own requirements.
the usual, is v. corymbosm (high bush),these are the new jersey blueberries most often sold in markets. They are happiest in a bog but produce quite nicely in the northeast garden with something acid, like peat added.
Southern blueberries (rabbiteye) are more heat tolerant.
The low bush berry, (angustifolium) is one of the types that are happy along rocky trails in the NE mountains

zelda

I live in zone 4 at 8500' and have had great luck growing them in the half wine barrels filled with good potting soil. Try growing the 'Brunswick Maine' and 'Burgundy Maine' varieties from Raintree Nursery. They've been thriving without any special care.

Here is a link that might be useful: Raintree Nursery

I have two young blueberry bushes ready to set in the ground. I have a couple places I could put them. One is on the southwest side of my house, on the top terrace next to the foundation. They'd get a lot of intense sun in the afternoon. The other place is by my back porch on the northwest and southwest sides. They would get afternoon sun, but not as much because there's a tree nearby. Both sites are on slopes, and my soil is very sandy. I do have some well-rotted leaves from last year that I can mix into the sand, and I have aluminum sulfate and sulfur on order.

I must say I have had very little luck growing things in my sandy soil. Last year, on the site nearest my porch, I tried lettuce, marigold, carrots, and moonflowers. They all died. The marigold lasted the longest, but never bloomed.

The websites I've visited, though, recommend sandy soil for blueberries.

Any advice?

Lilacs, I tried blueberries in the ground for about 5 years, I completely dug out a 3' by 15' bed, amended it with a dozen bags of peat, used soil acidifier, and watered them religiously. I gave up. I think its a question of winter moisture as well as pH. I dug up what was left, 5 plants, and put them in 10 gal. containers last summer, where I can keep those factors, pH and moisture, under better control. I left them outside all winter, and they are now just about to flower.

I think you'd have better luck just going with the containers in the first place.

They sure do taste good.