Growing blueberries

pedulla, Nov 21, 7:58am
okay so went to pick some up at supermarket as saw man putting them out - $4-99 he said i thought nup will go with the 2 chips of strawberries. love blueberries though and came home to a gardening brochure with a blueberry plant in it!mmm $18 so what i wonder is are they successful, grow okay in auckland, waste of time, not enough fruit - where would you plant them etc - shame the berries are so costly to buy because nothing beats strawberries and blueberries together so wondering about growing but dont want to waste $ there either - oh and strawberries are they easy to grow! ta
2young1, Nov 21, 8:18am
risky re blueberries. not much crop wise I be thinking. we just dont have the right temps in auckland. give strawbs a go. much easier.
redhead96, Nov 21, 8:22am
takes a few years for blueberry bush to have a good crop so that is probably why they are not cheap.
I've had mine for a few years and hopefully this crop will fill 1 punnet.
bugin, Nov 21, 8:29am
These need a peaty acid soil ,preferably around pH.5 or below ,and they are shallow rooted so dont like to be disturbed once planted .
Prepare the ground a year in advance with peat ,horse poo and elemental sulphur (200 gm /sq mt)dug in at least a couple of times.Plant an early ,mid season and later varieties to suit you area.Fertilize after planting with Sulphate of ammonia (25 gm /plant )lightly spread around the dripline in spring and autumn.extra sulphur may be needed to get the pH.down slowly.
Production should start in 2nd year ,but will not get cracking until 3rd or 4th year.That's why the are expensive.
Also need a good bird cover ,cos they love them too.
pedulla, Nov 21, 8:31am
bummer thought as much - wish they were so expensive to buy :-(- thanks for the info but will flag it - too late to plants strawberries now! maybe next year job
mkbooks, Nov 21, 9:44am
Do you have to have more than 1 for pollination!
ptrex, Nov 21, 9:47am
the plant guide tag will let you kow if they are self fertile or semi-fertile. I say that it is always better to have two.
redhead96, Nov 21, 9:50am
My one is self fertile but I agree too that having 2 would be better.
mokaumoi, Nov 21, 10:18am
I have a lone blueberry bush that is totally neglected and produces a huge crop every year.They ripen randomly at uneven rates on the branch so go out every couple days and pick out the ripe ones .
Also today rediscovered some strawberry plants from last year in a neglected corner of my ramshackle grow-wherever-you -like garden , and picked a dozen fat juicy sweet strawberries off them. Lots more on the way too.
nchun, Nov 21, 10:26am
You can grow Blueberries successfully in Auckland. Just make sure to purchase Southern Highbush or Rabbiteye varieties which are low chill (don't need a cold winter to set fruit). You will need to grow 2 x different S.H or R.E varieties for cross pollination. Northern Highbush Blueberries suit the colder areas of NZ. Rabbiteye varieties can be grown in most parts of NZ but need protection from hard spring frosts. Cheers!
arabelle, Nov 21, 2:19pm
I collect pine needles and mulch around the bush come winter, it has made the crop go from something to awesome. they really like acid . Yes they take years to get there, but worth it to stand out in the morning enjoying the fresh yummy fruit, sitting there waiting to be picked
gardie, Nov 21, 5:24pm
There is a blueberry farm about an hours north of Auckland so I don't see why you couldn't grow them in Auckladn.I had a friend in Warkworth who grew two in pots (she rented and so moved them around with her) and had the most wonderful crops each year.She'd just pick ripe ones daily and pop them into an ice cream container in the freezer.We have two bushes from which we get sufficient to pop into the fruit salad at christmas but they do nothing like hers did in pots.
mottly, Nov 22, 3:34am
I read rabbiteye varieties are the best for Auckland region.Im in Thames, and have planted a small one 'smoothie' and a rabbiteye which I can't remember the name.The smoothie has been in the ground for 3 weeks, and is already covered in blossoms :)I'm using sheep pellets to keep the ground sour.Worth a shot, considering even a tin of blueberries are $3.75!
mark_g, Nov 14, 10:46am
With rabbiteye varieties in their first year - do not let them fruit. Pluck the flowers and let the plant put its energy into root and stem development.

Some rabbiteye varieties are hardy & vigorous, and some are less vigorous and a bit delicate. The delicate ones will suffer severely if you let them fruit prematurely. They have loads and loads of flowers and start to develop fruit in their first year and it's so tempting to let them be and maybe get a few blueberries to taste - but don't.

My new (last winter) plants only came away and developed good new growth after I removed flowers and gave them a one-of prune to reduce stem height by 1/3 and remove inward growth.

Right about now blueberry plants can be found on special an many plant centres as its very late to be planting them now. $18 per plant right now is bloody dear. I've seen two for $25 and I reckon you'd get three for $30 if you pushed it. What else are the garden centres going to do with their left over plants at this time of year!