So I managed to find this pretty large 3-5 years old Brigitta blueberry planted loaded with berries for a great price in a 5 gallon container size to my surprise for a great price so I had to buy it haha. Would it be safe to transplant into a larger 15gallon pot while it is still bearing fruits n actively growing or should I let it be and just feed it well until it’s dormant for next spring to do the up potting?? I’m still quite shock a berry plant this size can look so healthy n producing well in a tiny 5gal container. Wonder how they do it lol.
I wouldn’t risk loosing the crop. But others might have more experience.
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Repot it in a few months when dormant. In the meantime, keep direct sun off of the black pot; most of the active roots are pressed against the inside of the pot. Keeping the pot cool will help.
Yes the main challenge will be to water this large plant in such a small container almost daily in the summer months, but that is what I will do in order not to shock it. If anyone have had success in uppotting during fruit development stage please do chime in. I really wonder how they feed it n able to grow such a healthy bush in this small size of a pot Haa. I will place it inside a larger pot and stuff the void area with pine bark n see what will happen.
That could be a good way to insulate from heat. Keep the pine bark moist.
I’ve uppotted blueberries a few times after they’ve set fruit and haven’t seen a major shock or fruit drop, but I’m very careful not to disurb the roots. Because of their dense fibrous root systems, I’ve found that I can usually slip them out of the existing pot with the rootball perfectly intact and then I can carefully plant in the new pot and avoid disturbing the roots. I don’t pack the soil too vigorously around the rootball and keep them watered well and avoid doing it in the hot spell. If the soil settles, I top it off, but I think that would be better than packing the soil more vigorously and disturbing the roots.
My concern with leaving a blueberry in too small of a pot is they don’t put on the growth I would want that season and then I don’t have the new canes coming up and other good growth to support future fruit. So to me, I guess it is worth it to risk current fruiting if it means better fruiting in future years since I’m getting the growth to support it.
I can’t say this is the best approach and I haven’t tested it against dormant up potting when I might spread the roots more, but I haven’t seen any significant issues. With the heat of summers, I also like knowing that having more root space and media for the plants means I’m less likely to let it dry out between waterings.
If you are considering it I would see how easily you can slip the plant from the pot and how solid the rootball is and then you can decide how much, or little, you might disturb the roots.
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I have no qualms about up-sizing a container of blueberries (or most any plant) if I think it is getting root bound. Even during fruiting or in active growth.
But, if it’s not rooted good, losing dirt from changing pots can result in loss in summer of many kinds of plants…pawpaws are about as forgiving as any fruit if you accidentally lose all the dirt from it during active growth.
The comment about the pot getting hot and the roots touching the black plastic…that is sometimes
an issue for sure if in direct sun. Putting in a bigger pot, both a bit deeper plus certainly wider–solves the roots touching the hot plastic for at least the current year. I do manage to keep quite a number alive in part shade even if I generally neglect them. (But, size of plant and size of crop do suffer in shade.) I try to make sure at least some real soil is in the mix I fill with in between the rootball and the new pot. Less watering, plus gets it more ready to plant in ground eventually I think.
Up-sizing is probably better done in dormancy, but I’d not hesitate to do it any time I found a plant in dire need of a bigger pot.