Two summers ago I got one of those bags from Lowe’s that had a stick poking out of it that’s allegedly a blueberry bush.
I put it in a large pot, since I wasn’t sure where in the yard I wanted it. It’s probably a 2-3 gallon terra cotta planter.
Last year, it did nothing. It remained a stick. However, it never died, though. There was still a twinge of red and green that showed it was still alive, so I left it be.
This spring came, and I was finally going to get rid of the thing. When I went to do, it, though, it had some leaves on it! Victory! Probably about ten of them, even.
Now, nearly four months later, I have…a stick, allegedly a blueberry bush, that has about 10 leaves on it, stuck in a largish pot.
What kind of blueberry is it; what kind of sun is it getting; what kind of soil is it in? (High bush or low bush; should be getting a lot of sun and very acid soil.)
Did it get any flowers on it at all?
Blueberries cross-pollinate, so you need more than one bush, of more than one variety, in order to get fruit.
Fear Itself, before asking my question I found that exact same site. FTR, I’m in Mississippi.
Anyways, maybe I’m assuming too much, but looking at the site I see things like “for best results”. To me, that kind of means “If you want lots of fruit”. That’s kind of like worrying about a marathon when I can’t even walk.
Except for the leaves sprouting this year, this thing has not grown. Period. It hasn’t gotten taller, it hasn’t gotten thicker, and it hasn’t sprouted any additional branches.
As for twickster’s questions, I have no idea. The bag it came in is looong gone. No flowers - never. Not even the hint.
If it’s a matter of making the soil more acidic, sure, I can do that. I just don’t want to if there’s some big detail I’m missing.
Just as a note, it’s going to take a while for a home-improvement-center-stick-in-a-bag to develop a decent root system. It was probably nine-tenths dead when you bought it. Really, you’re quite lucky it survived at all. Keep it watered well and in the sun.
The pot’s big enough. You might want to add an acidifying fertilizer. The main thing, though, is it’s doing stuff underground right now. It might be a couple of years at this rate before it even thinks about flowering.
If you want blueberries, go to a real nursery and spend twelve to fifteen dollars on a nicely established bush in a pot.
Sticks in bags are a very frustrating way to try to garden.
No, but it actually spent its first year in the ground. When the missus of the house told me I had to get rid of it so we could get something else there, I stick it in the pot.
Thanks,** Vern**. I get what you’re saying - it’s not like it was a well-planned purchase or anything.
I’m not really looking for fruit (I don’t even eat it!), I just like growing stuff and get annoyed when it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. A dead plant I can understand. One in stasis is a bit different.
Three years ago my dad cut me a stick-in-a-bag from a blueberry he’d had going for about twenty years. After the first two years I put it in a five gallon pot because it was getting too big. During the third year, this thing went absolutely nuts and started sending out new growth everywhere. It had berries all over, and the farthest branch probably reaches a good three feet from the pot. I really need to train it to something, but were were hoping to wait until we finished buying a house to stick it in the ground.
Anyway, here’s the weird thing: besides the repot, I’ve done absolutely nothing to take care of this thing. No soil treatments, no cover in the winter, not even watering during the summer (it rains every day.) It is literally the easiest plant I’ve ever had to keep healthy. One day it was just sitting in its pot and decided to go buckwild. (People still go buckwild, right?)
So my suggestion would be to scrap this one and get a cutting potted up by someone who knows their blueberries. I think yours just got off to a bad start. If you’re just doing something wrong with it, I have no clue what it might be, since nothing at all seems to do the trick with mine.
Apply the three rules of fertilizer… “up, around, in the ground”
they relate to the three numbers on a fertilizer bag.
a 30/30/30 fertilizer will just give a fast growth of “up”
in the first yr, which is good and gives few berries
switch to a 10/50/40 in the second yr to produce “bush” (expect a few berries)
switecht a 40/10/40 there after for yield.
The preceding assumes a normal soil pH of around 6, and a neutral humous (desicated bark/sand clay) ,mix
(extreme northern climate ( central Alberta Canada)
My gf has a huge harvest of blueberries every year. She gives her plants meticulous care. They are mulched regularly with pine needles, fertilized with composted horse manure, and covered with netting to keep the birds from doing a premature harvest. It seems like a ton of work, but fresh blueberry pancakes on a Sunday morning, wow.
I came to the website because I, too, stuck some sticks in the ground about 3 years ago! They are now about a foot high with some leaves, but not much else. I finally bought some soil acidifier and have been feeding them about once a month. I was kind of glad to discover I wasn’t alone. I planted 2 varieties for cross-pollination. But I’ve yet to get the first bloom. Guess I’ll try the 3 step fertilizer dance. Thanks for the tips, y’all! MaryE:)
Yes, start with good-sized healthy plants. Trying to nurse along an invalid mini-blueberry bush will be frustrating.
I have about a dozen blueberry plants in a raised bed that gets some acidic fertilizer (the acidic part is probably more important than the fertilizer part - see appropriate websites for info on gradually lowering pH). They fruited well last year and I have a good-sized crop ripening currently.
Blueberries aren’t that complicated to raise. One variety to try is “Top Hat”, a fruitful dwarf plant.
One thing I learned about gardening in general- some plants like what you have to offer and some don’t. My Bleeding Hearts grow like weeds, but I can’t grow Shasta Daisies or Columbines. I’ll try replanting something once, but if that doesn’t work I assume that species doesn’t like it here and try something else.
The soil in my yard is alkaline but I have had very good luck in growing blueberry in 10 gallon pots.
I have used top soil 7 gallons (not potting soil or any of the fancy soil ), sand about 2 gallons and half a pound of sulfur granules well mixed together.
We just purchased one from Lowes last week. It was already producing berries from the site. We just planted it and have eaten a few of the berries. Sadly, they were a bit sour. I think we need to leave them on the plant longer.
It’s easy to get the acidity right in a quarter-barrel or other large planter. They dry out more quickly, though. We have four dwarf blueberry varieties in big pots because even though our soil is acidic, they just like the pots better.
