But the images shown on that search are of pussy willow female catkins.
Blueberries are in the same family as bilberries and have small bell shaped flowers - look at the V corymbosum link just below the line of images in the search you posted.

Basically if it has catkins then it is not blueberry.
Go and play hell with the garden centre that sold it to you.
(even better if you still have the label as proof of purchase)
[/quote]

I would guess what happened is that the blueberry died, but a self-seeded Salix caprea or cinerea grew - this might have happened in the nursery (in which case supplier is definitely to blame) or afterwards - in which it depends on whether it was vigour of plant or suitability of cultivation that was the problem.

If the catkins are as in the google pictures, then they look to be female - it's the male tree that has the golden pollen-encrusted pussies.

On Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:49:00 +0200, David in Normandy
wrote:

On 14/06/2013 00:04, David Hill wrote:

It's surprising just where Pussy Willow will appear, and they grow so fast.

I've spent the last couple of hours doing interactive tree
identification and the closest match so far is a goat willow - Salix
caprea. Though the underside of the leaves isn't silver nor furry. The
female catkins are a perfect match though. The leaf shape is a match too.

I've got a goat willow growing in a clump of penstemon.
I certainly didn't put it there!

Pam in Bristol

On 14/06/2013 13:31, Pam Moore wrote:
On Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:49:00 +0200, David in Normandy
wrote:

On 14/06/2013 00:04, David Hill wrote:

It's surprising just where Pussy Willow will appear, and they grow so fast.

I've spent the last couple of hours doing interactive tree
identification and the closest match so far is a goat willow - Salix
caprea. Though the underside of the leaves isn't silver nor furry. The
female catkins are a perfect match though. The leaf shape is a match too.

I've got a goat willow growing in a clump of penstemon.
I certainly didn't put it there!

Pam in Bristol


I've just sawn mine down; got some good sized logs off it for the wood
burning stove. It was completely overshadowing the rest of the soft
fruit, casting shade on the raspberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants.
Can't believe I've been nurturing such a monster. I gather it won't be
got rid of easily either and will push out fresh shoots. Looks like it
will be an ongoing job now cutting it down.
--
David in Normandy.

On 13/06/13 19:46, David in Normandy wrote:
Anyone have success growing blueberries? I must be doing something
wrong. Planted a bush 7 years ago "Bluecrop" and after 7 years I have a
very healthy 10 feet tall bushy tree that has never had a single fruit
on it! Every spring it has lots of catkins, but that's all. Any
suggestions on what is wrong or should I just take the chainsaw to it
and convert it into firewood?

Doesn't sound like a blueberry bush to me.

It should have pink or white bell-shaped flowers.

--
Rusty Hinge

On 13/06/13 22:07, David in Normandy wrote:
On 13/06/2013 22:59, David Hill wrote:
On 13/06/2013 21:12, David in Normandy wrote:
On 13/06/2013 21:36, David Hill wrote:
On 13/06/2013 19:46, David in Normandy wrote:
Anyone have success growing blueberries? I must be doing something
wrong. Planted a bush 7 years ago "Bluecrop" and after 7 years I
have a
very healthy 10 feet tall bushy tree that has never had a single fruit
on it! Every spring it has lots of catkins, but that's all. Any
suggestions on what is wrong or should I just take the chainsaw to it
and convert it into firewood?

Are you sure it's not a Willow of some sort?


Positive. The leaves and catkins are identical to those that show up on
a google image search for "blueberry catkins".

Sorry to still disagree with you, I think you were sold a pup.
I have checked the are three main types of blueberries — low-bush,
high-bush and rabbit-eye — all with fairly specific growing
requirements. But thanks to the work of hybridizers, new crosses are
much more forgiving. but none have catkins.
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2010/...production.htm
explains about the male and female parts of the blueberry flower.
I agree that if you google Blueberry catkins it does show pictures, but
no explanation, and these 2 letters as part of a chain go with my idea
of it being a willow.

Strange flowers on blueberry
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2013, 08:33:28 »Blueberries don't produce
catkins..but...in past I've had tree seeds settle amongst my shrubs and
those were very blueberry like when they started to grow. I suspect it
is some type of willow as I've seen the seeds 'fly' in big clouds in
wind during spring. Only way for them to stop their 'fly' is to get
court in undergrowth.. usually in the base of shrubs. The new growth
from these seed look very much like new growth on blueberries...straight
whippy growt...and the leaves are not that different neither, maybe just
slightly bigger. It is very easy to miss them and knowing how fast
willow grow..two year old 'seedling' start to be almost same size with
the blueberry bush.
Really irritating thing is...they are bugger to get rid of You know if
you have willow growing among your bush by cutting the odd one down and
if it soon sprout with good amount new growth..that it! Blueberries are
much slower to produce new growth. Logged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


squeezyjohn
Quarter Acre

Posts: 59

Strange flowers on blueberry
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2013, 09:37:21 »Well - it's a bizarre coincidence
that 2 bushes had the same problem .... but you were right. After being
sure that the 2 things were coming from the same plant - I had a rootle
around to loosen the soil and gave a pull on the rogue element. It had
a separate root system so was obviously a different plant.

How bizarre for 2 of the 3 bushes have that happen in one year! And by
a plant that has such similar stems & leaves.

Thanks for the advice Logged

David @ the damp and now wind free side of Swansea Bay

I'm beginning to think you must be right. The catkins on my tree match
those given on a google search of "blueberry catkins" BUT the associated
posts with that follow a similar trend to those in this thread i.e. that
it isn't a blueberry and the guy bought a "cuckoo". Looks like I've got
the same cuckoo! It is likely the mistake was made at the plant nursery
that grew the plant. Erm... do you think if if I dug up the 12 feet tall
tree and took it back that they'd swap it? LOL

12'? *12'?*

My blueberries are about two feet high and three years old...

--
Rusty Hinge

On 13/06/13 23:49, David in Normandy wrote:
I've spent the last couple of hours doing interactive tree
identification and the closest match so far is a goat willow - Salix
caprea. Though the underside of the leaves isn't silver nor furry. The
female catkins are a perfect match though. The leaf shape is a match too.

Perfect match for what?

--
Rusty Hinge

On 14/06/13 08:14, Martin Brown wrote:

Invest in a second one and all will be fine (apart from having to net it
to keep the birds from eating them before you do).

I have even more bother keeping them off the jostaberries.

Yes, if I turn my back on the jostaberries (now,some of those *are* over
twelve feet) for a moment while they are ripening, the
blackbas^h^h^birds strip them.

--
Rusty Hinge

On 15/06/2013 19:30, RustyHinge wrote:
On 13/06/13 23:49, David in Normandy wrote:
I've spent the last couple of hours doing interactive tree
identification and the closest match so far is a goat willow - Salix
caprea. Though the underside of the leaves isn't silver nor furry. The
female catkins are a perfect match though. The leaf shape is a match too.

Perfect match for what?


The catkins on my "blueberry" are a perfect match to those of the goat
willow. The tree is now history, having been identified as a goat willow
not a blueberry - I was sold a "cuckoo" 7 years ago, it is now cut up
into logs and the rest of it is in a big heap ready for burning.
The leaves of the goat willow bore a striking resemblance to the leaves
of the blueberry as shown on the label that came with the plant, so the
young plant was likely misidentified at the plant nursery from whence it
originated. The tree had grown a lot over the last 7 years under my care
and nurturing. I estimate it was around 15 feet tall when I cut it down
yesterday!
--
David in Normandy.

On 15/06/2013 18:25, RustyHinge wrote:
On 13/06/13 19:46, David in Normandy wrote:
Anyone have success growing blueberries? I must be doing something
wrong. Planted a bush 7 years ago "Bluecrop" and after 7 years I have a
very healthy 10 feet tall bushy tree that has never had a single fruit
on it! Every spring it has lots of catkins, but that's all. Any
suggestions on what is wrong or should I just take the chainsaw to it
and convert it into firewood?

Doesn't sound like a blueberry bush to me.

It should have pink or white bell-shaped flowers.

We,ve decided that and the tree has now been felled.

On Sat, 15 Jun 2013 20:05:20 +0200, David in Normandy wrote:

On 15/06/2013 19:30, RustyHinge wrote:
On 13/06/13 23:49, David in Normandy wrote:
I've spent the last couple of hours doing interactive tree
identification and the closest match so far is a goat willow - Salix
caprea. Though the underside of the leaves isn't silver nor furry. The
female catkins are a perfect match though. The leaf shape is a match
too.

Perfect match for what?


The catkins on my "blueberry" are a perfect match to those of the goat
willow. The tree is now history, having been identified as a goat willow
not a blueberry - I was sold a "cuckoo" 7 years ago, it is now cut up
into logs and the rest of it is in a big heap ready for burning.
The leaves of the goat willow bore a striking resemblance to the leaves
of the blueberry as shown on the label that came with the plant, so the
young plant was likely misidentified at the plant nursery from whence it
originated. The tree had grown a lot over the last 7 years under my care
and nurturing. I estimate it was around 15 feet tall when I cut it down
yesterday!

:-)

Just trying to visualise a 15' blueberry tree in full fruit.

Ah, well, at least you have some logs.

It also goes to show what strange results you can get from Google.

Are you going to buy a blueberry bush or two to replace it?

Cheers

Dave R

On 15/06/2013 23:06, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
On Sat, 15 Jun 2013 20:05:20 +0200, David in Normandy wrote:

On 15/06/2013 19:30, RustyHinge wrote:
On 13/06/13 23:49, David in Normandy wrote:
I've spent the last couple of hours doing interactive tree
identification and the closest match so far is a goat willow - Salix
caprea. Though the underside of the leaves isn't silver nor furry. The
female catkins are a perfect match though. The leaf shape is a match
too.

Perfect match for what?


The catkins on my "blueberry" are a perfect match to those of the goat
willow. The tree is now history, having been identified as a goat willow
not a blueberry - I was sold a "cuckoo" 7 years ago, it is now cut up
into logs and the rest of it is in a big heap ready for burning.
The leaves of the goat willow bore a striking resemblance to the leaves
of the blueberry as shown on the label that came with the plant, so the
young plant was likely misidentified at the plant nursery from whence it
originated. The tree had grown a lot over the last 7 years under my care
and nurturing. I estimate it was around 15 feet tall when I cut it down
yesterday!

:-)

Just trying to visualise a 15' blueberry tree in full fruit.

Ah, well, at least you have some logs.

It also goes to show what strange results you can get from Google.

Are you going to buy a blueberry bush or two to replace it?

Cheers

Dave R


Yes, probably, but purchased from a different garden centre!

--
David in Normandy.

It's Google being helpful, innit? "there aren't many results with blueberry and catkin in so I'll give you all the results which have either blueberry or catkin as well"
Hence a page of text hits talking about blueberries with a line of images of willow catkins.

If you search instead for "blueberry catkins" (with the double quotes so that Google searches for the phrase not the individual words) it's interesting - David is not the only one - happened to two people on allotmentsforall.co.uk and one on growfruitandveg.co.uk

Takes urglers to give an accurate id though! ;-)

On 16/06/13 08:02, kay wrote:

It's Google being helpful, innit? "there aren't many results with
blueberry and catkin in so I'll give you all the results which have
either blueberry or catkin as well"
Hence a page of text hits talking about blueberries with a line of
images of willow catkins.

I'd recommend the advanced search in Ixquick: www.ixquick.com

--
Rusty Hinge

On 16/06/2013 10:53, RustyHinge wrote:
On 16/06/13 08:02, kay wrote:

It's Google being helpful, innit? "there aren't many results with
blueberry and catkin in so I'll give you all the results which have
either blueberry or catkin as well"
Hence a page of text hits talking about blueberries with a line of
images of willow catkins.

I'd recommend the advanced search in Ixquick: www.ixquick.com


Why?
Since Blueberries dont have catkins you wont find anything of
interest/value.