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Why does my blueberry bush look more like a tree?

13K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  Lgtrott 
#1 ·
I bought one blueberry bush last year...it was maybe 12" high. I didn't realize at the time that I needed two so I just let it grow....here we are a year later and it has no blueberries but it's about 6' tall! I transplanted it today into a 10 gallon container (I believe it's 10 as I had it in a 5 gallon and this is twice as big)
Anyway....I bought a long stake tonight that I was going to try to attach it to because it's sort of leaning to one side.
Is this normal for it to grow so high? Should I prune it? the main "trunk" is about 2" in diameter.
TIA
 
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#2 ·
Got any photos? That sounds a bit crazy for a blueberry bush. I have some that are something like 6-7yo (we got 'em at 2-3yo from the nursery I think?), and they've barely hit the 3-foot mark. I forget whether they're high bush or not though, I'd have to trek out in the snow to find the labels.
 
#3 ·
Yeah, that sounds like something besides a blueberry bush to me. Ours are highbush blueberries and they are not even waist high after 3 years or so. We have a blueberry farm about a mile from us and all of his new bushes grow really slowly, too. The ones that are 10 years and older are over 6 feet. And there is no main trunk. They are multibranched at the ground. Hmmmmmm.....I wonder what you have there......
 
#6 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mykdsmomy View Post
Ok, here is the pic......let me know if you have problems viewing it




That doesn't look like a blueberry. Maybe a willow tree. Can you take a close-up of the leaves and stem?

I've seen wild blueberries get tall but they are always much bushier, not one main stem like that. I think that the blueberry probably died and another tree was growing in the pot that you bought. I would take it back to the nursery.

I have blueberry bushes in my yard that are 20+ years old and they are less than 4ft tall but very, very bushy.

Here are a couple pictures of my blueberry bushes. There is a person standing in one of them, their head is the big white dot
 
#8 ·
Ok, I'm going to be really mad if it's not a blueberry bush...lol

I didn't have any fruit last year but it was the first year and I didn't have any blossoms either.....I also only have one "blueberry" plant. I've watched it grow since I bought it........hmmmmm let me see if i can get a close up of it.......
 
#10 ·
#11 ·
Thanks
I don't know how I'd get it into my car...it's so stinkin huge.....I am so bummed....here I've been waiting all year long for my blueberries.....but I guess it's not going to happen...LOL

I'll go get another plant from the nursery this week......but then won't I have to wait another year to get blueberries? ughhhh
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mykdsmomy View Post
Thanks
I don't know how I'd get it into my car...it's so stinkin huge.....I am so bummed....here I've been waiting all year long for my blueberries.....but I guess it's not going to happen...LOL

I'll go get another plant from the nursery this week......but then won't I have to wait another year to get blueberries? ughhhh
I bet you'll get some blueberries this year. Get 1 gallon pots (they are pretty standard for blueberries) and you will get blueberries, not a lot, but there will be some! I always get a few the first year when I buy new plants.


Maybe even just take a cutting from the plant you have and show them that it isn't a blueberry. I would absolutely get them to replace it for you
:
 
#13 ·
Actually, you shouldn't let a new transplant produce fruit the first year at least. It takes too much energy from the plant when it should be using it's energy to establish roots. You can just pick the flowers off or unripe fruit if you miss some flowers.

It's tough waiting, but you'll have healthier plants.
 
#14 ·
Yeah, that is *not* a blueberry bush. Not even close. Call up the nursery. See if they want it back or something before you attempt to take it back.

See if you can find 2-3yo blueberry bushes, they'll be farther along in development, and you'll be more likely to have a few fruits this year, and definitely next year.
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by retro.mama View Post
Actually, you shouldn't let a new transplant produce fruit the first year at least. It takes too much energy from the plant when it should be using it's energy to establish roots. You can just pick the flowers off or unripe fruit if you miss some flowers.

It's tough waiting, but you'll have healthier plants.
I have never found it to make a difference with blueberry plants that come in pots. I don't let things that are bare-root have fruit the first year but I have never seen any harmful effects with blueberries
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#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by jacki1234 View Post
I would love to have blueberry plants. Do they stay in pots or do you transplant them in the ground when the weather gets better? How big of a plot do I need for one or two.
They do ok in pots but are happier (as are most things) in the ground. Mine are 20+ years old and probably around 4 feet wide. They are really easy to grow
 
#18 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by lmonter View Post
Yeah, that is *not* a blueberry bush. Not even close. Call up the nursery. See if they want it back or something before you attempt to take it back.

See if you can find 2-3yo blueberry bushes, they'll be farther along in development, and you'll be more likely to have a few fruits this year, and definitely next year.
The plant in the photos looks just like my FLAME WILLOWS !!! (CAN be grown as a TREE or as a SHRUB)
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mykdsmomy View Post
I bought one blueberry bush last year...it was maybe 12" high. I didn't realize at the time that I needed two so I just let it grow....here we are a year later and it has no blueberries but it's about 6' tall! I transplanted it today into a 10 gallon container (I believe it's 10 as I had it in a 5 gallon and this is twice as big)
Anyway....I bought a long stake tonight that I was going to try to attach it to because it's sort of leaning to one side.
Is this normal for it to grow so high? Should I prune it? the main "trunk" is about 2" in diameter.
TIA

This additional question is a bit late, but I have a blueberry tree that once grew in a pot and reached only 1 ft with few berries on it. I transplanted into the garden and in 2 years it has grown to 6ft high by 6 ft wide with several
1 1/2" dia trunks. It is healthy and full of new leaves. Problem is no berries, and this year in spring it grew white catkin type flowers on its main trunks but no flowers on branch ends. I have another blueberry bush next to it about 2ft high with berries and the leaves look the same.
Q. I have had berries from large tree (when it was small), but is it now a blueberry as I have never heard of white catkins on a blueberry?
 
#20 ·
I bought one blueberry bush last year...it was maybe 12" high. I didn't realize at the time that I needed two so I just let it grow....here we are a year later and it has no blueberries but it's about 6' tall! I transplanted it today into a 10 gallon container (I believe it's 10 as I had it in a 5 gallon and this is twice as big)
Anyway....I bought a long stake tonight that I was going to try to attach it to because it's sort of leaning to one side.
Is this normal for it to grow so high? Should I prune it? the main "trunk" is about 2" in diameter.
TIA
My blueberry bush looks like a tree
 
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