Blueberries as hedge

15 years ago

My mom would like to plant some blueberries against an ugly wooden fence erected by her neighbors.

We are thinking about buying from Wal-Mart. They have two different kinds of blueberries for $10 apiece. They are Sharpblue and Misty.

Question 1: Which would make the better hedge?

Question 2: How far apart should I plant them, 2 feet apart or 3?

Thanks,

PJ

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Comments (5)

applenut_gw
15 years ago
PJ-

Aak! Throw on the brakes!

First of all, neither Misty or Sharpblue get very tall- three feet high at the maximum. They have sparse foilage in the winter and won't be hiding anything. There are taller southern highbush blueberries like Brightwell, Ciimax, and Premier, but you won't find them at Walmart.

Both Misty and Sharpblue give excellent berries, but they cannot be planted directly in your high pH soil, no matter how much you feed them with acid food. The place where they are planted must be dug out 8-12" deep and at least two feet wide per plant, the soil you dug out of it discarded, and the hole filled with an acid mixture of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 miniature bark, and 1/3 compost, liberally sprinkled with soil sulphur and sulphate of ammonia. Even with all this preparation you will have a time of it keeping the pH below 6.

If this seems like a lot of work to you, it is, and well worth it for the devoted blueberry grower. But if you're looking for a nice edible hedge that's carefree, hardy, and evergreen, you might want to think about Natal Plum instead.

Applenut
0
pj_in_oc_california
Original Author
15 years ago
According to the Raintree web site, Misty gets 5 feet tall and Sharpblue gets 6 feet tall. They are both southern highbush. It appears the Sharpblue has better flavor.
I hadnÂt considered that the plants lose all of their leaves in winter. I will have to find out if this is objectionable.

I tested the soil and it is pH 6.5. I was going to dig a deep hole and mix a cup of sulfur with the soil in the bottom of the hole and use fertilizer for azaleas on it.

PJ
0
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applenut_gw
15 years ago
Our Sharpble has been in the ground 4 years and Misty for 3 years, and they are about 2' tall except for where we have then supported in the shade on the side of the house. It seems that our heat keeps them short instead of getting leggy.

It is extremely difficult to lower the pH of soil and I'm afraid your plan will not be enough. Commercial growers bring in tanker trucks of sulphuric acid and inject it in the soil, but that isn't an option for homeowners. I've been working our blueberry bed soil for years with sulphur, ammonium sulphate, and Ironite, and its all I can do to keep it below 6.

Just trying to help out and give you fair warning.

Applenut
Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
15 years ago
Boganvillas or climbing roses will stay green all year. If she wants food. Grapevines!!
0
pj_in_oc_california
Original Author
15 years ago
I can see that blueberries are not going to work.

However, my mom absolutely loves red seedless grapes. This is a great idea.

Thanks DesertDance!

PJ
0

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Blueberries as hedge

Comments (5)

applenut_gw

pj_in_oc_california
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Blueberries as hedge

Comments (5)

applenut_gw

pj_in_oc_californiaOriginal Author

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applenut_gw

Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b

pj_in_oc_californiaOriginal Author

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pj_in_oc_california
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