My in-laws have amazing blueberry bushes (actually more like trees) on their property, so last year I took 4 air layers, of which 2 were successful. I put them in small pots with peat/potting soil in the fall, and they continued to look healthy until it got cold and they dropped leaves. I brought them indoors before first frost, and they seemed happily dormant all winter. This spring they started to bud so I was happy they survived. Here’s the problem:
In April, pre bud-break, I replanted them from the small-ish pots they were in into larger root pouches, with a 50/50 mix of promix and pine bark mulch fines. Since then, the buds broke on one of them, but the resulting leaves were very slow to grow and are now curling and drying out. See pic below. On the other the buds took almost 2 months to break and are still only producing tiny leaves. It seems like they’re struggling to grow.
I’ve tested the pH, and it appeared to be in the 5-6 range in early May, so I top dressed both with acidifier. Last test indicates somewhere around 5. I gave them a small kick with Jobes fertilizer early in the spring, and have amended with coop poop a couple of times since. It’s been rainy here all spring so they’ve been pretty wet all the time (although draining well in the root pouch). They get full sun from about 11 am to 6 pm right now.
Anyone have any suggestions for how to get these kickstarted again? I’m new to blueberries, so I’m not sure what to expect, but this behavior so far doesn’t look healthy…