I bought a couple of plants the other day. They're only around 10 inches high at present. What year/century can I expect to be picking yummy fresh and succulent blueberries?
harrislucinda,
Mar 20, 8:41pm
if they live sorry as I had 2 plants had in pots but died But fingers xx in about 2 or 3 years
paora-tm,
Mar 20, 8:49pm
Oh crikey, that long. I'm more worried about me dying before then or them! What did you do to them or what didn't you do to them. I have mine in pots as well - perhaps I should stick them in the ground.
buzzy110,
Mar 20, 9:20pm
Where do you live. My friend planted some last year and had berries this year. However, she only got them for their foliage and are in her 'herbaceous' border. This is Auckland and no frost at her place. I thought they needed frost. Just shows what I know!
Is now a good time to plant or is it best to wait till winter when there are no leaves on the plant?
paora-tm,
Mar 20, 9:39pm
I live in Auckland. An Auckland business sold them to me (with tempting photo of fruit) so I figured they must do ok up here. We do get the occasional slight frost don't we. Isn't that enough? Not sure about not planting until they have no leaves. They were only in the small flimsy pots you normally buy small plants in - I thought it best to do something with them other than leave them like that.
sonja2,
Mar 20, 9:48pm
I bought a couple of plants early last season, and potted them on too larger containers until I am ready to position them in the orchard. They seem to like a lot of water over summer, and mine had berries the first year. What they don't tell you though, is that the birds are quicker and cheekier than you would believe! I had my potted blueberries sitting on a verandah not far from the table I sit at with my coffee. and a cheeky thrush ignored me siting less than 10 feet away to nab the ripe ones! My neighbors, not realizing that blueberries grow into a tree, planted theirs in a small cage set-up. I am thinking, if I can manage it, the best idea would be to build a chicken wire cage over the entire orchard area, and bring the surplus out to the bird feeder rather than let those cheeky feathered demons steal the lot.
paora-tm,
Mar 20, 9:56pm
Aha, we have two cats though. Shsssh, don't tell Gareth. I did lose a small number of tomatoes and strawberries to the birds . cheeky mynas pair up and buzz the cats in the backyard.
nonumbers,
Mar 20, 10:04pm
I had a small deck area cat-proofed with small mesh wire netting and had the best crop of potted blueberries yet. If I'm still here (Patea) next year (heaven forbid!) all the tubs will be moved there. Blueberries do well in the Waikato and they can get some quite hard frosts there so guess they'll do OK in Auckland - unless too hot.
arielbooks,
Mar 20, 10:07pm
I have heard that they do well if given a mulch of pine needles twice a year.
paora-tm,
Mar 20, 10:45pm
We have a huge macrocarpa on the edge of the section. Can you use the needles (what do you call them) from them?
kendall40,
Mar 20, 11:17pm
Perhaps you could pot them up into a much larger pot and use peat mixed with some soil. They like an acid soil and I found that a slow release fertiliser worked well. Water them well but they don't like wet feet. Can grow fairly tall but will not do that in a pot. Keep them covered or the birds will get them!
paora-tm,
Mar 20, 11:27pm
Ahhh. that settles that - into the ground they will be going when I figure out where. As for birds, I just remembered that not only do we have cats to chase them off, I have a blowup doll (unused - honest - lol) I could stand by them. I wonder how scary that will be for them. :)
kendall40,
Mar 20, 11:53pm
It will scare them for a week or so! Whoever came up with the expression "bird brain" meaning thick, probably was! The birds will out fox the cats too! You can buy an Oz product in NZ now called 'cat netting'. Just google cat netting nz. Excellent product and much easier to handle than wire netting. Fix it down or the birds will crawl under it. They love blueberries! I made a full enclosure that I could walk into and that worked! Put all of my berries in there. Edited to add that citrus fertiliser works well for blueberries.
loukirby,
Mar 21, 12:07am
I planted three bushes last year, gave them the soil they like and had good crops off them this year. I haven't netted them but have got wind protection around that particular piece of garden to stop the cat and dog from lying on it as it is a sun trap.
harrislucinda,
Mar 21, 12:25am
had them on the porch gave them t bags but no wont waste my money again has 2 seasons but nothing but good luck
samanya,
Mar 21, 12:29am
About 3 years ago I planted 6 Reka blueberries & the second year I got a very small harvest & this year I got heaps more, like enough to freeze a few packets after eating heaps fresh. (in spite of the drought). I don't have a problem with the birds as, like kendall40, I have a walk in enclosure for all of my berry fruit . bliss.
eljayv,
Mar 21, 7:11am
We have two in pots and had such great crops the last few years that I purchased another on this year. The same as the one we have that has the largest sweetest fruit.
eljayv,
Mar 21, 7:13am
We wrap ours In some old tulle I had to keep birds off.
jsimons12,
Mar 21, 7:24am
Get some flower & fruit preferably organic that is okay for blueberries & use it as often as possible, also ask about an organic fertilizer for green leaves to make the plant bigger & bushier faster. When I use this combination approach every 2 weeks, things rocket grow huge in 2-4 months. (You do need to make sure you don't burn the plant, if using it this often but I never have).
tahnasha,
Mar 21, 10:30am
I work from autumn onwards on a blueberry farm in Queensland, so I suppose it depends on the variety whether they like frost or not, cos there isn't any frost on our farm. When we plant we get fruit the following year. I don't know anything about growing them, I only pick them, but they must like good drainage because ours are all on a sloping hill, and the ones that were planted on an old piggery have the biggest fruit. We continually pick the same plants from about April to end of October, the more you pick the more you seem to get. I do know they love lots of water which makes the berries bigger.
niffer13,
Mar 22, 8:35pm
I have 2 bushes. 3 years ago the birds got all the crop. So they are now covered & we had a great crop last year & better this year. We pick 3/4 of a 2litre ice-cream container one a week. Been picking them for approx. 2+ months. They are in the ground.
paora-tm,
Mar 22, 11:41pm
Golly, my dreaming has just been upgraded to xxx status. I can't wait to get those results. It'll be a joy to bypass the small not inexpensive supermarket trays and hopefully I'll harvest blueberries which aren't dry and mushy.
geoff_m,
Mar 23, 8:24am
At out old place, we had 8 bushes planted as a hedge. we got more than we could eat. They were in a sheltered place, in full compost and lots of sun. I had a soaker hose setup and the odd handful of fertiliser (and my coffee grounds each morning. The current place isn't as productive, but we had fruit in a year. Forget the birds, if you want any you have to beat the kids. my kids can strip a bush faster than any bird.
cleggyboy,
Mar 23, 8:21pm
I had two plants on advice from the plant centre, as I was told they need a pollinator, but one plant died and the other is thriving and fruiting well. Only trouble is the birds, the bush is rather large to place bird netting over, so I gave up getting a decent feed now, just hunt for the odd one as I go to check the mail. They need regular pruning, and I fed mine on a sprinkle of Sulphate of Potash.
paora-tm,
Mar 26, 5:45am
And then there were four - plants that is. I just bought another two plants - a different variety after reading that that was recommended. Have decided to grow them in pots for now - 4 in the pot must be worth 2 in the ground. I can always put them in the ground later if pot growing is too disappointing.
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