I HAVE FOUND GREAT SUCCESS BUYING RASBERRIES,BACKBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES (HALF-HIGHBUSH) FROM EBAY. THE DIFFERENT VARIETY OF PLANTS ARE AMAZING AND THE FEW SITES I HAVE ORDERED FROM ARE VERY KNOWLEDGABLE AND ARE USUALLY FAMILY OWNED NURSURIES. I AM VERY NEW AT GROWING IN CONTAINERS AND EVEN NEWER AT USING A COMPUTER SO YOU'LL HAVE TO FORGIVE ME FOR ANY MISTAKES I MAKE IN MY MESSAGES. TRY PLANTRANCH ON EBAY. HIS PRICES ARE VERY RESONABLE AND I ORDERED 3 BLUEBERRY PLANTS NEVER RECIEVED THEM, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A SHIPPING CONFORMATION HE STILL SENT ME 3 MORE OUT WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. EVERYTHING I'VE GOTTEN WERE 10 TIMES BIGGER AND BETTER THAN THE DWARF CITRUS THAT I PURCHASED AT GURNEYS (THIS SPRING THEY ARE SENDING ME 2 REPLACEMENT PLANTS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T SURVIVE A YEAR). TRY IT, I WAS A LITTLE SKEPTICAL UNTIL A FRIEND LET ME IN ON WHERE SHE GOT ALL HER EXOTIC AND HARD TO FIND PLANTS AND THEY ARE HEALTHY AND BEAUTIFUL.

Southern Highbush blueberries are very closely related to rabbit-eye blueberries; in fact, if I am not totally mistaken, botanist are debating on whether to reclassify all highbush type blueberries as different cultivars of Vaccinium corymbosum. Most of the native blueberries we have here in NW Florida all begin putting out leaves and blooms this time of year. It's easy to drive along the highways and country roads here and figure out where all the wild blueberry patches are simply by looking for the bushes with the reddish leaves and white to light pink bell shaped flowers. This is perfectly normal for these plants at this time of year. Thisisme is right on the money about the type of fertilizer needed. You want to use a fertilizer that is ammonium sulfate based rather than nitrate based. The plants will get the nitrogen they need from the ammonia component of the fertilizer and the sulfate component will keep the ph of the soil on the acid side, (blueberries like a soil down at a maximum ph of 6, but it shouldn't be much lower than 4.25. An azalea or camellia fertilizer would be a good one to look at. Make sure you select a planting location that gets plenty of sun, but not necessarily the really hot afternoon sun. You also do not want use these plants as foundation plants; since most house foundations are concrete based, (this raises the ph of the adjacent soil).

Sorry to hear that, the good news seems to be, it is easily treatable with fungicides and it only kills a few branches. If you have enough captan you might want to spray the neglected blueberriesÂÂif you think they are the carrier. I have not come up against this disease yet. some more info. for you http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/Berries/bbpdf/BB%20canker%20fast%20fact.pdf http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/comhort/nooksack/ipmweb/blue/phomopsis.html http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/fruit/htms/bluestem.htm

You misunderstood me. I'm not being cavalier at all and I have done my research. I only comment on blueberries growing in areas I'm very familiar with so as not to raise the expectations of the OP. I would never tell anyone to just" throw it in a bucket" and be done. I didnt elaborate on my technique before because I wanted to encourage to try, not discourage because its looks like too much trouble. The OP or anyone could PM if they want to and need more help or support while growing. I provided pix of the plants and their fruit as "proof" of my technique. I love blueberries, want to eat every day so I may be a bit more enthusiastic about growing than most and want others to join in the fun. I know Ohio and its winters well since I have family there and help them with their fruit trees all the time. I know there were a lot of deer and rabbits in Ohio last winter that stripped my cousins fruit and ate branches and bark, so its probably why they want containerized to keep near the house and protected. Blood, sweat and tears have gone into my containerizing since NYC dirt is bad and space limited. Yes, I'd love to have an orchard like my cousin in Ohio and thanks to containers I do. In ground I have grapes, pears, plums and peaches, but I love the flexibility of my miniature/dwarf cherry, apples and berries in containers to expand my food supply, all of which live outside year round not garage kept. There is a lot you can grow in containers and with new crosses and hybrids whether by nature or man happening all the time. We shouldn't limit ourselves to the "you cant grow that here or in that way" ideas anymore. Of course I did research for years before I even tried blueberries in the ground. 3 years in amended ph tested soil and they still died no matter what I did. No matter what you read in a book, a plant is alive and has a mind of its own. The northern lowbush and highbush I bought had difficulty in summer sun, heat and humidity which is not in the books, but they have since acclimated. I didn't expect to coddle them by putting umbrellas over their tops when it was too hot and then run back out getting soaking wet just to lower so the berries would get their rain. Mulch, frost blankets, bagged leaves, moving blankets, lights, unheated patio (depending on variety) I did it all the first 2 years of the blueberries, even in my bedroom for struggling whips and rooting twigs with humidifier mist. I admit I went overboard, but now I've learned. I custom mix the media I place them in and spare no expense in the initial planting which contributes to a strong root system. After that initial coddling, they have been so well acclimated that when I was hospitalized in Fall and could not care for them and were left with just bark mulch, the -20 wind chill and 8-13in of snow and more with drifts, did nothing to them and I got boatloads of berries the next season. I didnt want to, I HAD to leave them alone unprotected in the cold, snow, ice and 50mph winds and nothing happened, these babies are stronger than you think. For the future, I do want to provide a windbreak or frost blanket beyond the mulch but if something interferes, I'm not worried because in all this time I learned drainage is the key. Besides, the Brazelberry line is meant to be containerized all its life. I started mine way before they "invented/patented" them and it probably would have saved me a lot of trouble and time, but I'm happy with my struggles and what I learned from failures before successes. If my trial and error can help someone grow what they want or save time/money then I offer my assistance and I'm more than happy to discuss, and I only comment after I have replicated my growing by helping my friends duplicate my methods and results. As for size regular or dwarf, choose a blueberry by its natural height on how it will look in your landscape in all seasons and can you easily pick the fruit. There are 2 varieties I would love to have but at the higher end of 6ft and add the pot I'm not getting on a ladder to pick the fruit. OP if you havent started yet, I may have a local source for you. PM