I’ve grown your four varieties listed and still have a Draper and Legacy.The other two were given away.
Duke is very popular,but to me,the flavor is too mild.Legacy is very good and yes,as Drew wrote,they do get big.Draper’s berries ripen mostly all at once.From what I remember about Bluegold,the flavor was good.I think that one is referred to sometimes as “the mortgage lifter”.
My favorite NH now though,is Spartan.
All my Blueberries are in containers except for one. bb
3 Likes
This is a good one, thank you for the plant! It’s doing really well. It’s early, and the berries are excellent. Even if not fully ripe. Most plants I have found need berries to be fully ripe. My oldest is Chandler and Liberty. Liberty is OK, not the best berry but not bad either. It produces like crazy, more than any others. So a keeper for me. Chandler seems to get better and better with age. It is not the best producer. I heard it responds well to pruning to keep up fruit production. So I have been hacking it good.
My favorite is Cara’s Choice small plant, beautiful leaves. Not easy to grow, scant production, hardly any so far. but the berries are more complex than any others in taste. Very rich,. I’m moving it to another container to try and get better production and growth. Yeah slow to grow, barely hardy here, as it’s not 100% NH. A tough one to grow. I’m into gourmet berries and it produces them so I’m keeping it.
2 Likes
No tapwater isn’t typically 8.0 pH…but some probably is.
1 Like
I seemed to consistently overstate soil ph with a home color test using droplets, was at 3.8 when I had it tested at UMass. Soil chemistry was kind of a constant juggling act. I’d spend some cash on a good testing regime.
Not worth it for a few home plants in containers. The large (20-25 gallon) fabric pots were adequately sized and seem durable.
1 Like
Just a quick reply. I tried growing blueberries in pots for the last three years. I have had a 50% loss with growing them in pot, so far. the winters are pretty tough here though.
1 Like
Our tapwater here is 8+, they pump it out of aquifers in the limestone. I had to use sulfuric acid to get the pH down back when I used to grow blueberries.
2 Likes
As much as I don’t like suggesting trademarked blueberries you could try Jellybean, it’s a naturally dwarfed blueberry.
2 Likes
I’ve seen Jellybean blue berry at Lowe’s lately. How do they taste?
I think those ornamental types are great for such use, if you want a very good edible landscaping type garden. Some of the berries I heard were decent, some not so much. Their are 5 or 6 of them now. Regular blueberries do fine in pots. Many tend to be compact, but even the monster plants do fine in containers.
4 Likes
So, if I can grow blueberries in a pot could it be taken out after it goes dormant and stored in a cooler in damp peat, then replanted in the spring? Or would it be better to store the whole pot. Why I ask is because of the space restrictions of the pot.
How big of a root pouch per plant?
what do you think one can do against the cold. there seems to be options like to bring the pots to an unheated storage area during dormancy and using some kind of insulation material around the pots or may be burying them into the ground. it is easier sort it out if it is a small scale garden. however in a commercial scale application using an effective insulation material with a reasonable price seems to be a more practical solution. what do you think?
In zone 6 it’s not a problem if they spend the winter in a pot outdoors. Frost heave or too much water would be about the only potential problems outdoors in winter. Now, if we’re talking Canadian Winters…I have no idea.
1 Like
I bought Northsky and Tophat thinking they would make great container plants. Does anyone else have experience with them? I figured they can live together on the future deck and be good grazing in the summer along with a few potted figs.
I’ve not tried either…but should be ok for pots if you get the soil right…
drainage, moisture, and 5 to 6 pH
I am planning on using a base of spruce chips, diatomaceous earth chips, and probably peat moss instead of my (now standard) coconut coir but I might keep a bit of coir in the mix for moisture retention.
In addition I will be adding Fe, Mn, and gypsum as @TurkeyCreekTrees shared in this article.
I have access to pH probes at work and can grab free acid mine drainage to water with occasionally if I need more acidic conditions (I’ll dilute as needed). This SHOULD give just about ideal conditions based on the reading I’ve done.
I’m not sure what else other than hollytone could be beneficial. If anyone has suggestions please share, I’ll be happy to learn!
1 Like
I think you’ve got the handle on it. Good luck. I buy a bag or two of Hollytone once in awhile…fine stuff but a bit costly.
1 Like
Tophat is on my container list, but have no idea what it tastes like. Same for others on my list, so one of each will be fine until I know. I think the others are Brunswick and Burgundy.
Make taste notes for all of us.
I am getting plugs from Burnt Ridge this year. Hopefully they will thrive in the proper mix and produce fruit quickly.
Plugs may be cheaper, but produce fruit quickly?
Given the proper growing conditions, I’ve seen some year old trees outgrow ball and burlap trees that were rootbound. If I water enough and provide nutrients, those little guys might be making a few berries in spring /summer 2023.
Additional thought on that Blueberry - I can get plugs for $3-5 or 2/3 year old plants for $12-15. If I buy plugs shipping will also be cheaper and I can then spend the money I saved on 3lb bags of wild blueberries while I wait for the plugs to get big. It’s not ideal but it’s probably a better value to take that route.