blueberry plant browning / falling flowers

dean25800

hi, i am quite new to the gardening world.

i am looking for some advice. I have 2 blueberry plants in grow bags, both are in ericacheous compost, one is Alvar variety the other is mini blue.

They have both been treated the same, but unforunately the Alvar one seems to be taking a turn for the worst; yet the other one is thriving.

Can anyone identify the issue with this here? Before, it was nice white flowers all over, but now a lot have started falling off (wind?) , or they are looking like they are browning and dying. It doesn't look well.

Pete.8

Can you see tiny berries left where the petals have gone?
My Patriot blueberry has now lost most of its flowers but there are plenty of tiny berries beginning to form.
My other 2 are still in flower

BenCotto

dean25800

thanks for quick response, pete!

i'm unsure, i'm quite new to this, but to me it looks like theyre dying.

here's a closer look.

Obelixx

First of all, if you can, move the two blueberries to their own pot with drainage holes and with all their compost and roots.   If you've used ordinaty grow bags, take the opportunity to replace as much of the compost as possible with ericaceous John Innes no 3 type mixed with up to a third ericaceous multi-purpose compost for moisture retention.    They'll thus be less prone to being waterlogged and also fried in summer. 

Blueberries are woodland edge plants which need a moist but well-drained ericaceous compost or soil.   The presence of any lime or calcium in their growing medium or water can prevent them taking up iron and magnesium thru their roots and that leads to anaemia and chlorosis which affect both the colour of their leaves and their ability to photosynthesise sunlight into energy for the plants.

It's hard to see from the photos but as blossom dies it does tend to go brown so taht's nothing to worry about.  If they've been pollinated they will now start producing fruits so correct feeding and watering is important and you may want to consider netting them to keep the birds off.  In my experience they swoop just before teh fruit is rip enough for us to eat.

Not all blueberries flower at the same exact time so the other may just be a bit behind.  Good to have the two tho as that helps with cross pollination and higher yields.

dean25800

Obelixx said:

First of all, if you can, move the two blueberries to their own pot with drainage holes and with all their compost and roots.   If you've used ordinaty grow bags, take the opportunity to replace as much of the compost as possible with ericaceous John Innes no 3 type mixed with up to a third ericaceous multi-purpose compost for moisture retention.    They'll thus be less prone to being waterlogged and also fried in summer. 

Blueberries are woodland edge plants which need a moist but well-drained ericaceous compost or soil.   The presence of any lime or calcium in their growing medium or water can prevent them taking up iron and magnesium thru their roots and that leads to anaemia and chlorosis which affect both the colour of their leaves and their ability to photosynthesise sunlight into energy for the plants.

It's hard to see from the photos but as blossom dies it does tend to go brown so taht's nothing to worry about.  If they've been pollinated they will now start producing fruits so correct feeding and watering is important and you may want to consider netting them to keep the birds off.  In my experience they swoop just before teh fruit is rip enough for us to eat.

Not all blueberries flower at the same exact time so the other may just be a bit behind.  Good to have the two tho as that helps with cross pollination and higher yields.

i have uploaded more photos , from those do you think that's normal?

Fairygirl

I wouldn't be worried. It's how the fruit is produced - assuming there's been pollination , as said. 
Re drainage - that's important. How are those bags supported? I'd have thought they'd be soggy at the bottom, unless there's some kind of support to keep them clear of the ground. 

Pete.8

What sort of grow-bags have you used - they look as if they're in pots.

I agree with what @Obelixx says, but not sure if now is the right time to move them unless you're very careful.
Mine are in 15L pots with a John Innes type of ericaceous compost.
When they start growing in Spring I use Miracle Grow soluble fertilizer for Azaleas and Rhododendrons once a month. I always use rain water for feeding and watering.
They don't mind being a bit damp, so best to overwater rather than underwater.

The petals of the flowers have fallen, but the stalks remin which means that berries are likely forming - you can see swelling behind the petals - that swelling should turn out to be a berry.