Ka Bluey Blueberry in So Calif

Picked two baskets of blueberries off our Ka Bluey bush, the flavor is fantastic. The heat will incinerate the bush by summer’s end, but it bounces back the next year. Looks like more will be ready tomorrow. It beat our Southern Highbush varieties by about two weeks, and the flavor is as good or better than anything else we grow. It took a few years for it to start bearing, so be patient.

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That’s good to hear.I received some cuttings from the ARS and am attempting to propagate them. Brady

So how do you keep the acidity up?

I have been trying for several years to grow several Kablueys, but seldom get any berries on them. I guess it isn’t hardy enough here in Zone 4. The bush grows, but no fruit.

Kevin, what is recommended for a good cross-pollinator for Ka Bluey? Good to know we have some nice new blueberry options. Kokopelli, nearly all of us here in S. California have to grow blueberries in containers, so we can control the acidity. I use Dave Wilson Nursery’s “Growing Blueberries in Containers” instructions, which have worked very well for me in the past. You can grow them in the ground here, and in fact, in N. San Diego county, we have commercial growers growing blueberries in the ground and are acidifying the soil using a fertigation system and muriatic acid. Our extension agents have done a very nice job supporting our commercial growers here, and they have been able to grow them very successfully, and bring blueberries to market a few weeks earlier than other blueberry growers in more traditional blueberry growing areas, so there’s a nice little niche market for them here, due to our warm and mild growing climate.

Sharpblue, Legacy, and Brightwell were blossoming shortly afterward, Kabluey was blossoming by itself for a while and seems to be self-fertile. ,

Thanks, Kevin. I cannot find an online source for Ka Bluey here in California, sadly. No one will ship to us (as always). So, may have to do some more serious looking around at local garden centers to see if someone was clever enough to stock them.

It sounds like one of the southern highbush should help pollinate it. They tend to bloom 2 to 4 weeks before rabbiteye varieties. Sunshine Blue tends to have a long bloom period if I remember correctly.

Thanks, Gary. It will be moot if I can’t find a seller here in California. Same issue we have with Springhigh. Cannot find a grower that will ship to CA :frowning:

Real Flora
recommended to my by @Drew51 picked up two spring high plants two seasons ago, could not be happier, well shipped and packed, appear to proper variety and this year exploded with growth and loaded with flowers. I believe they ship to CA.

Thanks, Moley. I’ll check our RealFlora. I’ve purchased from them in the past, they are a really wonderful nursery and carry a lot of unusual plants. Now, if I can just find Ka Bluey, I’ll have the 3 varieties I’m after :slight_smile: