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Fruit & Orchards

Blueberries not growing

11 years ago

I want to grow blueberries but I'm not succeeding very well. I did a soil test and amended the soil according to the information I was given by my local University Extention Coop. I use a pine needle mulch. And although they have nice green leaves they aren't growing any larger than when I planted them 3 years ago. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

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Comments (4)

Bradybb WA-Zone8
11 years ago
Hello tk,
What kind of fertilizer is being used?Maybe try a little Ammonium Sulfate. Brady
riverman1
11 years ago
Healthy looking plant, congratulations, blueberries can be a challenge to grow so the fact that you have kept it alive for three years says you are doing a lot of things correctly.

As Brady suggested, give it some ammonium sulf (21-0-0)..........you can either dissolve a tablespoon of ammonium sulf in a couple gallons of water and pour it around the base or sprinkle an ounce (couple tablespoons) around the dripline of the plant and water it in. In a few weeks if you don't see some new growth (light green leaves at tips of branches) then apply again. Once you start seeing the growth then back off the fert....you don't want to overdo it.

RM
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In my experience, poor growth in blueberries is an indication of high soil pH, and will not be fixed by adding fertilizer, unless the fertilizer also lowers soil pH, as would be the case with ammonium sulfate. There are several ways to test soil pH, including pH paper, indicator dye, and pH meter. I prefer to use indicator dyes, because they are inexpensive, there is no calibration required, and the results are not ambiguous. The color change will be bold. You might be able to obtain bromothymol blue, or bromocresol purple at a scientific supply house in your area.
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A compromise might be to prune the oak tree. To get more light to your berries, you can limb up the lower branches and thin out the upper branches. I think that cutting down a tree should always be avoided if at all possible. One benefit of the tree is that its fall leaves will provide an excellent mulch for your bushes every fall. You can pile up the leaves between the bushes to prevent weeds. Before you apply each season's new batch of leaves, you can rake the decomposed leaf mold up near your bushes from the rows between them. You can then pile up all the all the great leaves in the middle. It will save you the cost of buying mulch or hauling it from further away. You might get some competition for water and nutrients between the trees roots and your bushes, but blueberries have very shallow roots that might not be hurt as bad as some other plants. You may find that the plants nearest the tree will need a bit more water and fertilizer.
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They also don't like to ever completely dry out. Do you irrigate? I've heard that when the temperature gets over a certain level, photosynthesis stops for the day. If they are only getting light in the afternoon, and then the temperature is really hot they may not be able to do much photosynthesis which is how plants produce energy to grow.
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I'm wondering the same thing, Dottie. Sent my son to chop down a resprouting crape myrtle we'd cut earlier in the summer and had to leave. come home to find out he'd whacked one of our blueberry bushes to the ground. Granted, it wasn't doing well, but i am hopeful that it will come back from the roots. I'd say yours has a much better shot. We get some kind of caterpillars some years that nearly defoliate sections of our bushes and they've always rebounded fine from that.
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blueboy1977
11 years ago
How much sun does this plant receive and what variety is it? The plant looks healthy but should be much bigger after 3 years!
tkhooper
Original Author
11 years ago
The bushes are in a full sun bed. I will get the fertilizer recommended. I was using the hollytone.

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