Hi ununu,

Yeah, it's really strange that your blueberry plant just started drooping all of a sudden.

Here's a thread from another blueberry growers on here that experienced similar issue.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1457331/blueberry-bushes-wilting-and-dying

How often do you water your blueberry plant?Maybe you watered it too often? Is the soil soggy? Usually the top soil is moist even if there's poor drainage. Maybe try going deeper into the soil, like half a metre and see if the soil is soggy? Or hold off on the watering for a few days?

Blueberry roots need moist aerated soil, not soggy soil.

Thanks, I don't water them because every time I check under the mulch the soil is damp. I don't feel like it is soggy, but I'm starting to think it is too compact... not enough air. I wouldn't say it's clay as it crumbles reasonably well.

A little history. I originally ordered two Bluejay plants from Stark Brothers…which showed up healthy and potted in a good mix. They have done reasonably well, until just this week when that one cane just dried up (in the picture from my first post). The other two plants that I ordered were Rubel and from a different nursery (which came bare root and packed in gel), though they looked very good. About two feet tall and very green...lots of foliage. The latter have had all the trouble up until the one cane died on the Bluejay plant this week. One rubel bush died off last year and the other has started to look chlorotic this summer, but didn’t early in the spring…it looked pretty good. However, last night, I was able to easily pull the remaining Rubel plant out which clearly shows that the roots are not taking to the soil after a year of being in the ground. I used coconut coir as the medium that I mixed in with the native soil along with cotton seed meal and a little sulfur, but maybe the surrounding soil is not great for them, maybe it’s the lack of air in the soil. As for the death, I don't know much about blight, but the canes do slowly look dark, almost black as they die off.... Is that an indicator of anything? Sure, someone can chime in and say...yep, that's blight... but what I'm after is not only help on what it is, but if that problem is associated with x...

Lastly, I have posted several times about digging up the plants and mixing in a decent amount of sand, but I keep getting deterred from doing this for one of two reasons. The first is that it may stunt their growth by a year, which I am fine with… I’d rather have a year delay and end up with great soil plus great future growth, than to not disturb them and have them always struggle. The second deterrent is that most don’t think that the sand will increase drainage. I am wondering of this is due to a misunderstanding of all factors. I know that some who dig a hole in the ground essentially create a large in-ground “container” plant. If you picture heavy clay or other non-draining soil, sure if you mix in pure sand it won’t drain because it’s surrounded by a virtual clay pot with no holes. However, my soil does drain fairly well. If I have a huge downpour, say five inches in an evening (which we had last month) the water stands while it’s pouring, but minutes after all standing water is gone. And it only stands when it is a torrential downpour. That said, if I were to amend the soil well with sand, I am thinking that it will help keep air in the soil so the roots can breathe.

Any thoughts on this?

Also, any comments about the placement of my plants (from my first post) and the time of day that they get the most sun? The leaves don’t appear to be flat but a bit ruffled if that makes sense. I wonder if it’s the heat of the afternoon and if they would be better?

Sorry, lots of questions here, but I’m trying to make sure I’m doing all that I can and give as much info as possible. I wonder if I have more than one issue :)

Thanks again

Hi ununu,

Check this link. Go down to the stem blight section, there's an image of a blueberry plant being infected with stem blight. The symptom looks quite similar to the one in your image.

http://www.onthegreenfarms.com/fruit-vegetable/how-to-grow-organic-blueberries/

You don't water your plants often? That explains why your blueberry leaves are drooping. Speaking from a personal experience, don't trust the soil moisture level, always water your blueberry plants even if the soil is still moist, don't let it go without water for more than 5 days. If you have good drainage, it wouldn't cause much of an issue.

last month, I didn't water my potted blueberry plants for over 3 weeks, i assumed they didn't need it because of the rain every few days and the soil was still mosist when I dipped my finger into it. The baby leaves of 2 of my southern highbush blueberries started having brown/black tips and the symptom were spreading rapidly to other leaves. I thought it may be caused by frost (Mid winter in Australia) or possibly from soggy soil and too much water. So I lifted up one of the pots and noticed there wasn't any water in the self-watering container plate thing (that you put at the base of the pot) even though it had rain quite frequently over the weeks. I then quickly watered all my blueberries and the brown tips symptom stopped spreading right away.

So now, I always make sure to water my blueberries every 5 days even if it rain during that time, unless it's a heavy downpour. I make sure to water my plants every 2 to days 3 during summer.

For your stem blight issue, maybe try removing that diseased black cane to prevent the disease from spreading to nearby/other healthy tissues?

I had a powdery mildew issue with 2 of my blueberry plants a while back, I sprayed the whole plant with a diluted solution of Potassium Permaganate (Condy's Crystal) for a few consecutive days and it got rid of the problem for good. So, if your plant's are having fungus or other pests infestation issues, maybe try water your plants with a diluted solution of PP ( light pinkish colour). Watering my plants with PP also got rid of ants and beetle grubs in my potted plants. PP also kills all fungus and baterials in the soil.

Thanks that is very helpful. I think I've seen what appears as Scorch Virus.. Sort of a blackening of stem ends. My soil is pretty wet at times so maybe I'm mistaken thinking it drains well. I'm still holding on to thinking the soil doesn't have enough air in it... That definitely seems like an issue I have. I suppose I should buck up and pay for a detailed/formal soil test.