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New blueberry plants dying

Leaves are going from green looking ok to brown and dry. Sunburn? I believe it was southern bluebelle blueberry. I water at least every other day. I planted 3-4 other varieties of blueberrry none have any issues. I planted 2 and both have the problem, it looks like it starts from the top of the leaf and works inward. The leaves are very dry and simply dead. The leaves never wilt just die. I carefully added some soil acidifier around the base of the plant after planting. They have been in for about 2 weeks. One plant is worse and basically all the leaves fell off when I ran my hand through it - even green ones. It is working its way from the outside in (on the leaves).

Comments (15)

  • 6 years ago

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  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    BB's prefer acidic soil (pH ~5) , have you had your soil tested?

  • 6 years ago

    Are you watering enough? Blueberries want consistently moist soil but with good drainage. They are a lot more tolerant of a higher pH than they are of lack of water! And a high pH generally does not kill a plant anyway or induce all the leaves to dry and fall off.

  • 6 years ago

    The soil is slightly acidic - not enough but there is no way that killed a plant in a week. I added stuff to lower the PH right after planting and they were potted plants in there own soil - so 95% of roots are still in soil they were grown in. I think I watered enough. Its odd that only the one kind is having issue.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    That's correct that non-optimal pH won't kill a blueberry plant. Sounds like you're watering a lot. Have you considered root rot? Phytophthora root rot is common in overly wet, warm soil. Check the roots, and assess drainage. Aboveground symptoms of Phytophthora sound like what you're seeing.

    https://blueberries.extension.org/phytophthora-root-rot/

  • 6 years ago

    I put them in brand new topsoil raised beds so drainage is definitely not an issue. That is why I watered almost every day. Is there a way to check for this? It was hot and I have black mulch around them.

  • 6 years ago

    Excuse me but I'm an expert at killing blueberry plants with dozens of plants turning to brown dust under my care, so I'm the last one to give advise. But it seems odd the other varieties are doing fine but only the one variety is dying given the same care.

    I'd think watering issues and root rot would be common to all the plants if it were the problem and I'm guessing you acidified the same around all the plants so it is unusual.


    Could it be the variety? Some just don't grow good in different parts of the country and with Cleveland's industrial past including a booming iron industry maybe that one variety can't cope with the heavy metals in the soil or at least one specific metal. I'd check with others in the area to see what grows best and what doesn't. It could be the variety wasn't meant to be in Cleveland OH .


    What variety are they out of curiosity? Were they early fruit bearing plants and were they producing? I never knew I had to strip the fruit off if they're producing for 3 years but it was before the internet as my defense. Blueberry plants turn brown even if I walk by them to this day.


  • 6 years ago

    If we're talking about heavy metal poisons in the soil, then the effect would likely be common to all plants. Not just blueberries. Fungal infections are pretty random. If the conditions are right, you sometimes just end up with bad luck. But yes, Southern Bluebelle may just be less resistant to Phytophthora. Not sure about blueberries, but many shrubs are indeed resistant to it.

  • 6 years ago

    Looks like these lovely people have already given you pretty good diagnostics and advice, but I just wanted to mention one other thing. Southern Bluebelle is a southern highbush variety of blueberry. They come out of dormancy much more readily and earlier than northern highbush varieties, so you run the risk of losing your flowers (and thus berries) to late frosts and freezes. I picked up a couple Sunshine Blues last year and overwintered them in my basement ... they ended up blooming down there with the freezes around here going through Mother's Day (honestly, I was worried the weather might get my northern varieties berries this year, but fortunately they bloomed late enough to get pollinated and berry); one of them did throw a couple more flowers early June. Also, Southern Bluebelle lists a hardiness of zone 6-10; I hope that yours are planted in a more protected area of your garden, since you list your zone as 5-6. If you end up having to try again with blueberries, you might opt for a northern high bush variety. I grow Jersey (enormous plant at this point), Northland (a halfhigh, so smaller, and extremely cold hardy), and Berkeley (plant is still young but shouldn't be nearly as big as Jersey, though not small); I also have a Bluegold (supposed to be relatively compact), but it has suffered mechanical (deer) set backs that, so I can speak to its normal but it hasn't died despite its abuses. There are many varieties, though, so you can pick for features you like.

  • 6 years ago

    It was southern bluebelle blueberry. What do you mean strip the fruit for 3 years?

  • 6 years ago

    TBH I messed up and planted some and did not pay enough attention to the right pollinator that flowers at the correct time. That combined with trying to "force" my soil to e more acidic and birds are making me seriously consider giving up and planting something else. I have gone through a lot of work and several years for about a pint of blueberries (over 4 years) total.

  • 6 years ago

    Strip the fruit for 2 years don. I made a mistake stating 3 years.

    "Blueberry plants should not be allowed to bear fruit during the first two years after planting or until the plants reach a height of 2.5 feet. Any blooms that form should be removed" from Ohio state university. Three paragraphs down.

    https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-1422

    It's simplified for the average joe but some university instruction are very involved but all refer to removing fruit the first couple years and also about pruning plants when you plant them. They all say a lot, how to, what not to do, bla bla bla.

    But this one is 20 PDF pages of mother lode knowledge about planting and growing,

    https://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/publications/publications/p1758_0.pdf

    good gosh I wish I had this manual 25 years ago. Blessed is knowledge.

  • 6 years ago

    The theory is to cull the crop the first couple years, so the bush devotes its energy to bush and root instead of fruiting. I haven't bothered with any of my bushes, and they all did fine.


    Ideally, you do want bushes with similar bloom time, though I do find all my northern high bush overlap blooming. I would suspect the difference is actually plant location more than variety. They ripen at different rates, though, so I get fruit at different times.

    I can't say I've measured my crops reliably ... especially since many berries don't make it out of the garden ... Berkeley's berries don't make it back to the house. Jersey is my largest and oldest; it produces a handful to a small bowl most days, though I've had years when the berries ripened all together and I could get a fair amount at once. I can try to measure this year.


    I use metallic pinwheels as a bird deterrent ... they don't like the shiny movement, andi think the pinwheels make cute garden ornaments.

  • 6 years ago

    Agreed about crop-culling. That's just to make the plant grow faster. Has nothing to do with plant survival. I've never done it.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    It's not time to give up don, it's time to get serious and study blueberries with an obsession to succeed. You've endured 4 yrs of set backs, but you've also gained 4 yrs of knowledge to move forward with, and with a just a little more advanced knowledge about growing blueberries you will succeed.

    https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/how_to_avoid_a_common_blueberry_planting_error

    Notice the .edu in the link? You won't find this kind of knowledge from a "How to" website with simple general information wanting clicks for advertisement revenue. Go to the professionals, universities, associations, and government agencies who specialize in your interest. These people and institutions spent a life time learning and conducting studies in their field and to whom I owe all I know about growing. If they all gave up after a failure I would know nothing and I'd still be dumb as a rock, (and we'd all be living like cave men).

    There will be a day when every piece comes together, and with a big loud bell dinging in your head you'll throw your garden hat into the air rejoicing because you will know "how to" but also why. The why is when you become an expert and will be known as "Don the blueberry king of Cleveland" and become an inspiration to young blueberry growers, and will be able to pass on your knowledge to them. Then you die.