The man at the nursery said to plant young blueberries deep if they are leggy.
That doesn't sound right to me. The plants aren't all that leggy to begin with, and I would normally plant them even with the soil line and pinch them back if I think they need to be bushier.
My son drove over to the valley to get plants, so I wasn't the one to speak to the nurseryman. So I don't know if the suggestion came from the actual grower, or from hired help. Sometimes the help is whomever they can get and isn't really an expert on plants.
I've got 25 blueberries to put in the ground and I sure want to do it correctly.
So far, all I've done is to re-pot them and move them outside during the day and into the garage at night. Poor little things arrived from the nice warm valley and into our freezing nights, so I'm giving them a chance to get used to the cold without freezing their baby little leaves off. (oh, and, yeah: their deer proof fence isn't finished, yet.)
Hi,
I'm not a blueberry expert myself, but wanted to make sure you had seen this article, which has some suggestions:
http://www.homeorchardsociety......rticle/40/
Here's to growing good fruit,
Steven
HOS Webmaster
Thanks, Steven. That's helpful.
Jon S, It's cold and dry, here. Our summers sometimes get up into the 80's. If it gets into the 90's, we all think we are going to die of heat stroke. I've gleaned through the listings to find the most cold hardy blueberries.
I've got all my plants on a modified drip line. I give them a really deep soak and then let them dry for a week or two. Without irrigation, nothing grows but juniper and rabbit brush.
I've had a couple of blueberry plants and they did fine. It took the birds about 3 crops before they realized that blueberries could be eaten. After that, no more fruit for me.
The berry patch is already laid out in full sun. I'll watch them and if they seem stressed, I'll put some shade cloth over them.
Worth trying, just make sure they get lots of water! Here in the valley, most growers water for a couple of hours every couple of days in the summer; more often in dried or hotter conditions. OSU Extension has a good article available online about growing blueberries if you haven't already found it, aimed at both commercial and home growers!
Dave
Idyllwild
simplepress
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
John S
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