On Fri, 28 Mar 2003 12:27:01 -0000, "Jack" wrote:

~Does anyone know anything about growing Blueberries? I'm considering
~growing one in a container, I would assume in ericaceous soil. How large do
~they get, do they get lots of fruit, when is harvest time? And are they
~more trouble than they're worth?

I've had them in pots for years (about 12!) now. They don't grow as big as
outdoors ones, and don't grow the new shoots from the base that they
should, but having said that, I reckon I've had my money's worth several
times over!

You need two different cultivars for the best cropping, and a nice big
tub. B&Q sells reasonably priced 46cm diameter plastic pots. A mixture of
John Innes ericaceous and normal ericaceous compost is a good potting
medium (though either is fine on its own). You need to water very well,
and prune as blackcurrants. Feed with ericaceous feed too. Two of mine are
full of bud, the third (12yo) is on the way out (hence buying another last
summer) and this old one will hopefully provide me with softwood cuttings
for new plants this year and then I will cut it right back and hope to
rejuvenate it.

Mine got about 4-5' high, again smaller than outdoors, but there again it
depends on the cultivar. Highbush blueberries can get to 8-9', but even at
Wisley there are smaller ones (I went on Tuesday for a nose round!)

Oh, the other thing you need is netting. Blackbirds will eat the lot
otherwise... And you pick when the berries more or less fall off which is a
few days after they initially go blue. They are sweeter then. This sounds
like a pain but best thing is to pick a bush over each day and add the ripe
berries to a box in the freezer. That way even with one or two bushes you
can build up a decent number of ripe berries for defrosting when needed. I
have had at maximum cropping several pounds off two bushes in a year. You
really do need to water them frequently though!

Best of luck.


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

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