Doing your own part for correct front end selections and aftercare is what is most important. They cant control stupid. So they don’t warrant stupid. No one should warrant stupid. Like a blueberry hedge in the completely wrong climate and soil.

That was my first reaction about the idea of blueberries in southern California but there is apparently a variety that thrives there snd is a common hedge material.

^^^ I'd love to know the source of that little nugget of misinfo :-) I have never seen or heard of "blueberry hedges" in SoCal. Yes, there are a number of blueberries that can be grown in SoCal, typically a few low chill cultivars and a couple of great hybrids that are almost fully evergreen. But NOT in the ground as a hedge!! They still need the same organically rich, moisture retentive but well drained acidic soil as they do anywhere else. Between CA's neutral to alkaline soils AND irrigation water, you should be growing blueberries only in containers where the soil can be tailored to their needs.

In a long term, almost perpetual drought situation, I would focus only on those plants that can subsist in the ground and with only natural rainfall after establishment. Save the irrigation water (which would need to be acidified for blueberries anyway) for the farmers that are trying to feed us :-)

I also haven't ever heard of using Blueberries for hedges. I think they might mean one of the hedging materials/plants that produce blue berries.... not Blueberries. The birds like these berries, but are inedible. I'd certainly check out what plant they mean.

Lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia) is a low water use native plant that can be hedged. https://calscape.org/Rhus-integrifolia-(Lemonade-Sumac)

The bluebery they are considering turns out to be Japanese - Elaeocarpus, from the Moon Nursery. Any thoughts on eitber?