Blueberries
I have 2 different blueberries ( as recommended) planted in large pots. the last 2 years they have fruited quite well. they are in ericacious compost and I fed them during the spring to get them going again after the winter. I pruned out the centre stems to create a bowl shape to let more air into the plants. But only about 6 berries between them this year. should I have pruned them harder, if so when? What should I do to get more fruit next year?
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Did the flowers get frosted at all (we had some pretty late ones this year)? And were there plenty of bees/insects around when the flowers were out?
My blueberry bushes don't seem to get any bigger
, I've two bushes in ericacious compost, in pots.
I bought 'Top Hat' either last year or the year before, it's still the same size and hasn't grown. It flowered this year but didn't produce fruit and I assumed the birds had taken the flowers. The other blueberry plant produces so little I thought of starting again with new plants but not sure which varieties to buy. Top Hat is surposed to be a bumper cropper - NOT - in zoomers garden.
Which varieties do you grow sally?
Ditto sallya42. My two bluberry plants have fared miserably this year. They are different strains cropping at different times, both in large tubs. The early cropper is Eary Blue but I don't know the name of the other. Last year was a bumper crop on both. I pruned them in spring making sure I left on the previous year's growth because I think that's where the next year's berries are formed. But this year hardly any flowers on the early cropper and none at all on the later one although there has been plenty of growth branch wise. I put bracken around the top of the soil in winter and they are in a sheltered position. They are in ericacious compost. I renew the top layer each year. Only water with rainwater. Two things are different this year. We made a mesh construction to surround them, because the blackbirds enjoyed a lot of them last year, and there is a large pot of Briza in between them.
Any advice would be very welcome.
My blueberries got badly zapped by deep frosts in the winter of 2011-12 so I pruned out all the dead wood and treated them to a generous dollop feed for ericaceous plants and they recovered wella nd put on lots of new growth. I put a winbreak around them for the last winter and this did the trick and protected the new growth.
I had plenty of flowers but then we had a frost and that means I've had about 6 berries per plant so i'll do the windbreak trick again and keep it on till mid May when teh frosts should be pver to see if that helps protect the flowers too.
Blueberries only need pruning to remove dead wood and keep them to a size and shape that suits their space. They're not like blackcurrants where you prune out the old fruited wood and keep renewing the vigour..
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Thanks for the tips. It's good to know I'mnot alone in failures this year. I'll try protecting them with fleece for longer next winter and then netting to keep the birds off - although my cat does a pretty good job with that. Could be pigeons though -lots of them and they aren't afraid of the cat!
Zoomer44 - I grow Patriot and Blue Gold.
Hi ,Sally good luck for next year.
'Top hat' has put on some growth this year. I've decided not to prune. Netting is a good plan, my cat has reached the winter of her years and chasing birds isn't on her agenda.
Let us know how you fair.