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Old 29-03-2003, 04:44 AM
Natalie
 
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Default Blueberries in Containers


" Soil: pure peat is perhaps your best bet. These aren't just
acid-lovers, they're downright acid-addicts. In the flat area
southeast of Vancouver BC (the delta of the Fraser River),
blueberries are farmed on peat lands otherwise nearly useless for
agricultural purposes.

Water: They need steady moisture; never let them go dry.

Size: Mature blueberry bushes are comparable to redcurrants or
gooseberries in size.

Harvest: late summer.

Fruiting: they are self-sterile so you need at least two distinct
cultivars.

Worth the trouble? Depends on whether you like them or not.
Blueberries tend to be quite tart, but given lots of sun and a
warm summer, they can be surprisingly sweet.

The biggest drawback to pot culture (of blueberries and just
about everything else) is that the soil temperatures tend to be
too high. If the sun plays on the side of the pot, look out.


I've been growing one in a pot for a couple of years - can't recall cultivar
ATM and I'm not going outside now to look - see time of posting ;-) Didn't
realise when I bought it that it was acid loving - so it got planted in my
usual New Horizon multipurpose organic compost. Also didn't realise it
needed a mate of a different cultivar. We've had masses of fruit both years
nice and sweet!

I think I'll leave it well alone in the compost its in, but maybe I'll try
and find it a friend ;-)

Natalie