Such exuberance for wishing everything to go well is a common spring ritual. Oftentimes, when the season does come at us, we lose some of the excitement and replace it with common sense.

I urge you to do more reading on growing blueberries.
The use of "Miracid" is not what you should be contemplating.....that's an acid fertilizer for acid loving plants. Miracid is not a soil acidifier....is not a soil conditioner. Its a fertilizer for feeding the plant.

You want your blueberries to have a specific pH...and when such soil test does not bear out what is good for blueberries, you are encouraged to use sulfur....garden sulfur.

Such use of a chemical in a container poses the biggest problem. With such small volume of soil, changing the pH to grow blueberries can be very much overdone....or under applied.
Better to get a soil test done with the soil you intend to use in the container. I'm not so sure you should be using the mix you mention....good drainage is always important, but so is the soil's ability to be held in the soil and feed the plant.
Such loose soil as you are suggesting using, will hardly hold onto water and keep sufficiently the pH necessary to grow blueberries properly.

Why container grow....if you have the space, blueberries could be more better suited growing where the pH can be better controlled and maintained.....not just for this year....but for years to come.

Acidifying a soil is a long term deal.....it should not be changed overnight. Planting such a specific acid lover such as blueberries in a container will demand the pH be what it grows in best. You will be tempted to add sulfur....but how much.....so you'll end up using too much, dropping the acidity to levels the blueberries cant possibly grow in well.
Acidifying a garden bed for specific acid loving plants should be considered to be obtained over ...at least, a season....if not an entire year.

I encourage you to read further on articles about growing blueberries and the importance of having its soil at the proper pH.

Felix, if you are of a certain mind to grow blueberries in containers, you might wish to pay a visit to nurseries and garden centers that have such soil for sale. This way, you can use their expertise and be assured the soil is right for growing the acid loving fruit.
At this time, you can pick their brains for what fertilizer you should use and when to apply. Also, ask about ways to maintain the acidness.

At such nurseries and garden centers, they often sell a non-professional measuring device for reading pH.
Such tool might be in your best interest if it can reliably give you a decent reading of the pH within a scale where the blueberries should do well.

Thanyou jeannie 7. I think thats good advice. I didn't mean to sound so exuberant. I'm more pragmatic realy.:) Infact I'm sure I will kill at least one. Because I'm still so green.

Couple reasons why I would like to do containers is I can bring them with me if I move. Another is I have alot of big trees "that I love" And so don't have as much sun as I would like. With containers I could move them around if needed. And from what I have read it sounded like they did well in containers, but I could be wrong. filix

Hi, Filix. Growing blueberries is much like growing potatoes. They both love water, but insist on good drainage. That's why they grow them in high-pH, sandy soils with a very high water table. Since we're talking about container culture here, and not garden beds, I can say that I have helped a fair number of people build soils and decide on a nutrient program for their blueberries, and they have all reported very good success.

For hobby growers pH tests of the soil or the soil solutions are pretty much futile. The inexpensive measuring devices are reliably unreliable. Even if they were reliable, how would you proceed if you found the reading unfavorable? You cannot hope to maintain any particular pH, even within a whole point in containers w/o some sophistication in chemical analysis and the equipment to continually correct pH with acid injection/application, so 99% of us will do more harm than good with the chemicals we need to correct pH on a daily basis. PH in containers changes by the hour and is affected by plant material, temperature, moisture levels, nutrient levels, bio-activity ....

The addition of elemental S to container media is pretty much a futile effort when lowering pH is the goal. It just takes forever to work. You can keep pH well south of 5.5 by using the 5:1:1 mix, adding Ca by way of gypsum, AND using an acidifying fertilizer. When fertilizing containerized plants, the pH of the soil solution is MUCH more important than media pH anyway. Additionally, pH in container media is substantially less important than in mineral (garden) soils.

I know you've learned the value of a free draining, well-aerated soil and that you have no trouble in your own growing with the soil's ability to "hold onto nutrients". Follow your instincts and you'll be fine. ;o)

Al

Thanks Al. I was hopeing you would say something like that! filix

Filix,

I no longer grow blueberries in containers, but used to. I now grow them in the ground exclusively as I find it easier (no need to protect for overwintering), but the idea behind high yielding blueberries is the same.

In nature we don't find blueberry shrubs all that often. They are a niche plant. Most commonly we find them in low lying areas where water runs off to (keeping the ground moist) and also where organic matter settles to (ensuring the soil in high in organic matter). This has resulted in a rather unusual biological adaptation that makes blueberries a niche plant rather than a common one in nature.

Blueberries are shallow rooted and produce few to no feeder roots. This is really important to grasp in my opinion. The fine, hair like roots most plants produce are feeder roots and take up most of the water and nutrients the plant gets. Blueberries simply don't produce these. This means they are very inefficient at water/nutrient uptake.

In nature this is OK because blueberries thrive in highly organic and fairly evenly moist soils. It isn't necessary for them to be efficient at water and nutrient uptake as they have a nearly constant and plentiful supply of both.

In nature the highly organic soil means that various fungi also thrive and one critical to the success of wild blueberries is mychorrizal fungi. This is a specialized fungi that forms a symbiotic relationship with certain plants. The fungi forms long, thin strands that perform the function of feeder roots. They extend deep and wide in the soil and take up water and nutrients. In exchange for feeding the plant, the plant exudes substances from the roots that feed the fungi.

In a container pretty much none of this occurs. Trying to replicate nature in a container is futile as highly organic soils will just compact too much and trying to establish mychorrizal fungi is impossible without steady environmental conditions which cannot be had in a container situation.

One other consideration for blueberries is that in nature these low lying areas also sport fairly cool soils. Much cooler than the soil at higher elevations. This is perhaps the most challenging part of blueberries in containers, particularly for those in hot, arid climates. More recent cultivars do improve the heat tolerance of some blueberries though.

To grow real quality blueberries in containers is not difficult once one understands that in nature blueberries get cool soils, nutrient rich soils and moist soils.

I almost forgot to mention that the soils wild blueberries thrive in are highly acidic. More acidic than any other plant you are likely to want to grow. This is another important consideration for container growing although again, more recent cultivars reduce the necessity for strongly acidic soils.

What is the best potting mix for container blueberries? There isn't one ;-) What is the ideal pH of the mix? It really doesn't matter (within reason).

In a container we need a mix that retains water long enough that we can keep it moist. Keeping the mix moist is very important for good health and yield. If you try a mix and find it goes dry before you can water it again then it isn't a good mix for you.

We need a mix that retains nutrients well enough that the shrub doesn't lack anything between fertilizing. This is much less an issue than water retention since watering and fertilizing can be done together.

We need an acidic growing medium. In a container this can be accomplished by either using a fert for acid loving plants or using household vinegar to acidify the water. In most cases we won't add fertilizer with every watering so the vinegar goes a long way to ensuring the pH is acceptable to the shrubs. How much to use varies depending on the water source, but a general rule of thumb is 1/2 cup vinegar (ordinary, white distilled from the grocery) per gallon of water. Often this much isn't necessary, but won't be excessive with tap/well water due to it's buffering capacity.

What I consider critical to container blueberries is understand the pH of the planting mix is far less important than the pH of the irrigation water. Plants do not take up nutrients from the soil or planting mix. They take up nutrients from the water in the soil/planting mix. For this reason to get nutrients to the shrub in the right ratio isn't dependent upon the soil/mix, but the water. If the pH of the water is out of whack the plants suffer.

Good container blueberries can be had with a good planting mix (such as Al's mix), keeping them moist and as cool as one can (shade the containers in hot climates) and adding an acidic fertilizer (like Miracid) to the water or adding vinegar to the water when not fertilizing.

Overwintering is a bit more difficult in containers due to little insulation value in containers which is why I don't container grow them any longer, but is certainly doable if you take the trouble to protect them.

Thankyou for such a in-depth descrption justa. I would plant them in the ground if I had a big enough spot with at least something close to full sun,and I was sure I wasn't going to move someday. My best spot is where I have some raised beds and a perenial garden. And even there the sun comes out from behind a huge maple for about two hours. Then it goes behind another huge maple. So the sun is in and out dappled. Instead of bringing them in my unheated garage, I could always bury them. My thought was maybe to put them on wheels, so it's easy to move around. Alot to think of. filix

Heres one way:

{{gwi:9011}}

I've grown blueberries in containers for the past few years. That is necessary here because the soil has a pH over 8, the soil is clay, and there are lots of gophers, so pots are really the only alternative.

I have 40 southern highbush plants (about 10 varieties) that require little if any winter chill. No frost here. I had great enthusiasum when I first got my plants, and every day I'm still excited when I deal with them, especially when picking the fruits. I plan to get a few more plants next year as well.

My plants are doing extremely well, and I havent killed any yet. Most are in 10 gallon plastic containers, with some in 15. I prefer the larger shorter containers, but the cost of pots is great, and the 10 gallon containers were a gift from a friend. And 40 plants take a lot of mix.

The mix I use is merely some home-composed ground wood chips from junipers and a mulberry tree, and all their leaves. These were several years old, and had lots of leaves and fine stuff in them. And I screened it all through half inch mesh so it's both fine and drains well. It's basically a course compost, and it was free. I think almost any commercial mix would do however.

From my experience what is more important is the pH of the water. I acidify mine. You can use vinegar as someone above mentioned, but you can also use other acids as well. I myself use dilute (new, uncontaminated) sulfuric acid as do many local commerical nurseries. I buy it in automotive supply stores as battery acid. (be very careful with respect to safety, always add acid to water, and dont use such a chemical unless you know what you are doing, etc). I am thinking of investigating using citric acid if I can find a reasonable place to buy it.

I use litmus paper I got on ebay to make sure the pH of my solution is right. I aim for about 5. Once you have your formula down, you dont have to check often.

I mix my watering solution in standard plastic garbage cans that hold 32 gallons. I have 3 so I dont have to walk so much to irrigate all my plants which are grown in 3 different areas.

I also add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of soluble fertilizer to every new garbage can full of acidified water. Most often I use inexpensive ammonium sulfate, and sometimes for trace minerals I'll add generic miracle grow, and on occasion toss in some epsom salts for magnesium (which my berries seem to need). I'll also add chelated iron solution when they look like they need it. I have no specific schedule for this however, and just trust my eyes and experience.

I was warned that fertilizing so often and encouraging fast growth would not be the best path to follow. I have had no problems at all because of it - just large vigorous healthy plants and lots of fruit. But then I have experience and a good eye for how a plant is doing, and make adjustments as I go.

I use the acidified water about every 3rd time I water, and use tap water the other times simply because it takes less time. In the summer I have to water every day to keep the plants healthy.

This year I'm going to shield my pots from the sun so maybe I wont have to water so much, and the roots wont be subject to such swings in temperature from the daily sun - that cant be good. I'm planning on sinking them about 6 inches into the soil, and then mounding cheapo mulch up against the upper part of the pots. I still want them high so they are easier to pick.

My plants are doing very well, the leaves are large, green, and lush. The plants have grown quickly, and the only real problem (besides taking a lot of time for care) is keeping the birds away from the yummy fruits.

Read as much as you can, then relax and go for it. They will bring great pleasure into your life.

Thanyou sweet lemmon. You must make some great pancakes! How many do you have growing out of peat bags? Too cool! Good info. Fire's me up! I didn't know there were so many bluberries you could grow down there in that nice warm climate. filix

No pancakes here, just fresh off the bush. I just now went out and picked a handful. Fun picture of the plant in the peat bag, but I used no peat in my mix. :-)

Until just a few years ago, I didnt know I could grow blueberries here either. But new S.Highbush varieties keep cropping up, and I want them, LOL.

If you try, you will really enjoy growing blueberries. But sadly in pots, they are higher maintenance and if you miss a few waterings, the plants can really suffer.

One more thing should I buy potted plants or bareroot? Which are best? Thanks for all the help. filix

One more thing should I buy potted plants or bareroot? Which are best?

If by bare root plants you mean those twigs in a box at the local big box store, forgetaboutit. Very high mortality rate with those.

Otherwise it really doesn't matter except that bare root, in spring, will ship dormant and thus not have much issues with drying out.

If you can, pay extra money for 3 year old plants instead of the typical 1-2 year plants. With 3 year old plants you will likely get a small handful of berries in the first year (very small handful) and the following year a more respectable harvest. Otherwise you are looking at 2 or more years before much in the way of harvest and a higher mortality rate.

Hello
I`m new to blueberries,but gonna try to grow them in half whiskey barrells semi northland ,northsky and northblue. I know about the acid soil 4.5 to 5.2 ph.I`ve read an artical on soil for bb`s 40% coir- 40% peat moss- 20 % perlite....what do you think...should i add manure or hummus, organic potting soil...bark....and i heard pick the buds off the first year...these bushes are 3 years old......
Thanks

On keeping blueberries planted in containers cool and moist during the summer...if using ceramic pots, would putting the main pot into a larger pot filled with sand/peat moss/spanish moss kept constantly moist be a good solution? (In addition to mulching of course)