Blueberry Tips?

[CagedFeral]

Any tips for growing blueberries? I just planted 5 on the upper part of a hard to mow bank. I guess I should have asked before but had to get them in the ground while I had time.

I tried to keep them the right depth but it was wet and muddy. I added some bone meal & acidic fertilizer. Mixed a little bag of top soil in as I filled in. I mulched with stuff raked out of my woods. Tried to keep mulch off the plant. The bank was cut 20 years ago but still seems to still be clay. I should have been mulching this spot for years. A little higher on the bank would've got me into good topsoil but I was thinking I wanted them right at the riding mower edge limit of the bank.

Any advice is appreciated.

[Cedar]

They like sawdust and coffee grounds too.
Prune old fourth year wood and dead  out, it is grey-ish.

Cedar

[CagedFeral]

Thank you Cedar. I'll have some chainsaw dust that I'll try to rake and use soon. I planted my first two blueberry plants this time last year. They are in big pots though. They haven't budded yet but I think they're still doing good. Been saving coffee grounds to add. Once in awhile I've walked out and watered them with left over warm coffee too. Always seemed to perk those 1st two up last summer.

[Cedar]

Are your​ two blueberry plants different varieties? They need to cross pollinate in order to set better fruit. I usually have 5-10 varieties, I would suggest at least three in your case, and they ought to be all the same timing for harvest. When I am back on my laptop vs this phone, I will look up the fruit fly which is causing problems where we do the want to grow late season varieties here anymore. It came into California in 2009, and now is causing alot of damage in many of our fruit types.

Cedar

[CagedFeral]

Are your​ two blueberry plants different varieties? They need to cross pollinate in order to set better fruit. I usually have 5-10 varieties, I would suggest at least three in your case, and they ought to be all the same timing for harvest. When I am back on my laptop vs this phone, I will look up the fruit fly which is causing problems where we do the want to grow late season varieties here anymore. It came into California in 2009, and now is causing alot of damage in many of our fruit types.

Cedar

The two in pots planted last year are both "Blue Ray". These I just planted are 1 "Patriot Hybrid" 3 "Jersey" and 1 "Chandler". Those five are on the S.W bank next to the house. The 2 potted are at front sidewalk S.E.

I plan to plant many more once I see what happens. I'm not looking for fast yields, I'm just wanting them to grow strong roots.

[Cedar]

Patriot Hybrid - Early Season
Blue Ray - Mid season
Jersey - Mid/Late season
Chandler - a long ripening season ~ 6 weeks

You have enough overlap there you ought to be ok.  Blueberries have laterally spreading roots, just one main central one which does down, which is why you can easily pop decades old ones out of the ground with a shovel (relatively easy), and replant them. I moved 100 of these older ones one JULY, mulched them with a bunch of sawdust and kept water on them, and all but 2 survived. I drove past them the other day (not at my house), and twenty years later they are still looking nice out there.

All of the varieties you have are good cold winter tolerant, and double as nice fall colours in the Autumn. All have decent to pretty good yields and if you did not know, "Chandler" and "Darrow" have the largest sized blueberries ever. Around the size of a quarter coin. You cannot get those varieties in the store, as they cannot be machine picked.

Cedar

[CagedFeral]

I'm really hoping that Chandler makes it. I read that about them. The patriot and jerseys sound good too. I'm just hoping this bank is not too wet. I don't know why even toward the top of the bank seems to stay soaked. It's spring and rainy so maybe I'm worrying too soon. 

Mulched more last night. Now I just need to put flagged stakes so no one mows them down.

[archer]

keep chickens away from them when they are starting to bud out. the little cluckers peck off the shoots.... damn birds.

[CagedFeral]

No chickens here yet but I got my eye on all the birds and rabbits. Every year about now a bird wants to build a nest on my shutter under the front porch. I knock it down and they start over. I had to murder a poor bird last year. She just wouldn't give up.

Good news is that I'm getting good buds! The Patriot has little leaves and flowers.

I'm hoping this bank isn't too wet. I've got an idea but I'll try to get a picture of all this before I ask.

[Kayzonara]

What you did seems fine.  I am transplanting blueberries myself.  Building a woody bed and getting them into it from the post they've been in for years.

[CagedFeral]

All 5 of these plants are looking good! The Patriot Hybrid seems to be going crazy. It's already made new branches. I need to take pictures. I feel like a proud father!