I've never seen blueberries sold labeled that way and wouldn't buy them if they were. We can only speculate on the reasons why they are being sold this way, and your guess is as good as mine. My best guess, by the way, is that (for whatever reason) they are hoping to capitalize on overly-eager consumers buying any blueberry plant that they see because they want to plant right now, whether the variety is appropriate for their region or not. I wonder if they think we all are idiots to whom the variety name means nothing? I think it is worth your while to wait and see what shows up in stores next. If we consumers refuse to buy miscellaneous, unlabled plants, the stores will learn a lesson from that. The only advantage I can see for retailers selling plants this way is (a) they save money by not paying someone to stick proper labels in the containers, and/or (b) they are able to sell plants not appropriate to the area since the consumer cannot see a variety name and say something like "that might grow much further north, but it won't grow here". Either option seems short-sighted as educated consumers who've done their research will be less likely to patronize a business that cheaps out and tries to sell unlabeled plants that may or may not grow well in their area.

I'm very far south (so far south that Texas sits to my west, south and east) and haven't seen any blueberry plants in stores yet, other than the ones sold bare root in bags. This is a case where it is better not to jump into buying the first blueberry plants you see and, instead, to wait and see what comes in next. Normally, down here in south-central OK, the big box stores have properly labeled blueberry plants in one, two or three gallon pots from sometime in mid- to late-March through at least the end of May. I think if you are patient, the properly-labeled blueberry plants will show up in stores and you'll be able to choose the varieties you want to plant, based on your research. I'll add that I was in two big box stores today in Gainesville, TX, just over the border from where I live in OK, and didn't see a single blueberry plant, labeled or unlabeled. I also was at Atwood's, where Red Dirt veggie and fruit (in this case, strawberry) transplants were present in abundance, but I didn't see any blueberry plants there either. Maybe it was because I wasn't looking for any blueberry plants, but I still think I would have noticed if they were there.

I did recently see "assorted" fruit trees sold this way, bearing only the name of what they were, like "cherry" instead of "Montmorency", "Stella", "North Star", etc. and once I saw that, I walked on by. Who wants to waste their time planting an un-named variety that might or might now grow well and produce well here? Maybe I am just picky, but I simply refuse to shop that way. If seed potatoes are listed only as "Red" instead or "Red Norland", or "Red Pontiac" or whatever, I won't buy them either. Retailers must do better than generic assorted names and they will, but only if we consumers insist upon it.

Hang in there and the properly labeled plants likely will arrive soon. If you have locally-operated nurseries, I'd encourage you to give them your business too, as they will make more of an effort than the average big box store does to carry the appropriate varieties.

Thank you Dawn - and yes, I absolutely agree with you that it is nonsense not to label plants properly. So I will wait it out and hope to see my varieties popping up soon.

So I saw these yesterday. The blackberries had the variety name attatched to the plant, but not the blueberry. What ALL of these had (I was at HD), was a plastic label that said they had been treated to prevent aphids, mealy bugs, etc. In other words, bee killing Neonicotinoids. Sigh.

Amy, That is so sad and it is the reason I have all sorts of annual flowers started in flats at our house. I used to pick up several flats of annual flowers a year at the stores and add them to the front garden for color and for the bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Nowadays, I generally just start my own in order to avoid bringing in bedding plants treated with neonicotinoids. I'm not saying I never buy a flowering plant at a store, but I buy a whole lot fewer than I once did. It is aggravating, to say the least, that it is getting hard to find plants to purchase that weren't treated with these chemicals at the grower. At least the plants you saw were labeled that they had been treated, so at least consumers can make an informed decision about whether or not to buy them. When enough people make it clear to the retailers that they don't want to buy plants that have been treated with neonicotinoids while at the wholesale grower, maybe things will change. Or, maybe they won't. Maybe the profit motive will override the concern consumers express about buying poisoned plants. It is very frustrating to think that people may be picking up and planting flowers to help the bees and butterflies, but what they actually may be getting is plants that contain the very chemicals that can kill the little creatures they are trying to help.

Dawn

Home Depot does not get plants specific for your region! They get generic plants. If the pots are marked assorted... means, no one knew, the variety when it got potted. I would not rule out bagged berry plants. They do just fine. But even these don't always have in there, what the label states.

BOX stores buy from wholesalers. The favorite is, who ever takes back what they don't sell, for credit, or gives them credit for plants that end up in the dumpster.

I say this, cause I worked in a Home Depot store, and saw this first hand.

Moni