Talk to me about blueberries

[rhiOrion]

DH and I just bought our first house, and we were thinking that some blueberry bushes might be nice.

What should we know? We've lived in apartments for our whole adult lives, and therefore I am pretty decent at container gardening, but no NOTHING about planting in the ground.

We're right on the edge between zones 7 and 8.

Piedmont area of NC, which is known for having a fair amount of red clay, though I haven't looked at our yard at all yet (and it's currently buried under a few inches of snow).

So... are blueberries too much to take on? Or are they doable for complete backyard novices? When do we plant? Do we have to do stuff to the soil? Is this an expensive project? etc...

I swear I think I'm going to keep most of my garden in containers again this year, just because it's what I know!

TIA!

[steffanie3]

Others probably have better advice since we just planted them last year, but I think it is worth a shot. I would look into a local gardening club and/or your county extension office for the soil advice and varieties that do well in your zone.

[Hobie]

I do know that you will need at least 2 varitites, so that they can cross pollinate. You also need slightly acidic soil.

[goldfinches]

I just got my first ones last year, also. I got a set of 3 different varieties. They're in 5 gallon buckets right now, because I'm jsut renting and am not giving them to my landlord, lol!

The main thing I know about them, is, mulch them with pine needles for the acid.

And, don't eat the berries for the first year, pick the blossoms off so they can put all their energy into growing big and strong.

[mumm]

We've had two blueberry bushes for 5 years. My son got them for his 4th birthday when he had a blueberry picking party so it is easy to remember! I think we have had a total of about 10 berries in all those years. The bushes are growing a little bit every year but not many flowers. We have acidic soil but they might not get enough sun. We've had great luck with raspberries over 7 years and have done well with strawberries over two. I'd pick a different berry!

[rhiOrion]

Anybody else have better luck with a different berry?

I love blueberries the most, but I'm willing to try something different either in addition to or instead of blueberries.

[ZTMOM]

We have 3 blueberry bushes & like a previous poster's experience, they've barely produced any berries but I'm attributing that to inadequate sun.

We also have 3 types of the hundreds of varieties of blackberry bushes/trees & those seem to do very well here in MN.

[sunnysandiegan]

I have my first blueberry bush. I live in San Diego and I needed one with the least number of "cold hours" I could find. The nursery I love is family-owned and most of the employees garden themselves and are a wealth of knowledge. The gentleman who helped me that day had me buy an acidic soil and I planted the bush in a container. He said while they need their minimum "cold hours" they love SUN. Our backyard (think patio with garden beds) gets direct sunlight all day long a little later in the year. Right now, though, it doesn't quite reach the ground, so I turned some buckets upside down and put my plants that like the most sun up on those buckets. They get sun now.

In your situation, I would go to a local, small nursery to purchase and ask lots of questions. I would also stick to container gardening this year and slowly convert over to in-ground gardening a few items at a time over the next few years.

[umarider]

We just moved to a 3 acre place and I am trying my hand this year at blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I ordered my plants the other day from Johnson Nurseries, which is in Georgia. http://www.johnsonnursery.com/

I chose Johnson because it'd been recommended to me to get plants from a nursery as close to my zone/location as possible and from a place that grows it's own stock. When I called Johnsons to place the order, the person I spoke w/ was super helpful, making recommendations as he saw the need and asking questions about my location, etc. The plants will be shipped March 1st, so I better get started digging holes!

[cchrissyy]

I just planted some! I know nothing except that they were at our fabulous local indpendant garden place and they helped me know what to get.

I got 3 plants (2 varieties), planted them in sunny spots, and I'm suposed to make the soil acidic for them somehow.

[philomom]

They like sun.

They like soil that is a touch acid... mulch with pine straw if you think your soil is too sweet.

They don't look pretty in the winter, so I plant them on the back of the house.

[Aubergine68]

I planted honeyberries last year and am excited about them. My blueberry bushes have not done anything in 3 years. I may move them or pull them out this spring.

I am in zone 3/4. I don't know if the honeyberries will do well in a zone 7, though!