I concur with Al... I do believe that many plants which become root bound bloom because they're in distress. In simple terms... with nowhere else to spread out healthy roots, the plant does what nature intended and blooms in order to procreate, or create seed, with the singular instinct of survival being the catalyst, I guess one might say. Plants don't like or prefer to be pot bound in order to bloom, as the old wive's tale would indicate... or for any other reason. Instead, plants will bloom when all their needs are met optimally... when light, temperature, moisture, drainage, nutrition, age, and other needs or conditions are correct for the plant in question. I once had a common Hoya in an 8" hanging basket, and at the time I had little knowledge about the subject of growing plants to their full potential. I was happily amazed when it bloomed... but found out upon re-potting it that the roots were so bound up and wound around inside the pot that the poor thing was choking itself to death! Thanks to this forum and the patience of people like Al (Tapla) and others, I now know that container grown plants require a different tact than those grown in the ground, and that many fallacies still abound within the realm of gardening. For many people, growing plants isn't that important. But I've collected and been gifted many plants that I really don't want to lose, so I when I did have trouble with a few bulbs, I did some in depth homework so I could properly maintain them... and it payed off in spades! :-) May I recommend reading: CONTAINER SOILS - WATER MOVEMENT and RETENTION XXII

I set out 15 blueberry plants about 5-6 years ago in the same bed. The bed is in full fun, from north to south, two rows of 7 and 8 plants. The bed has a gentle slop from south to north. The spacing is 4.5' between plants and 5' between rows. When I planted them, I mixed with 50% peat moss and 50% existing soil. I did not put on any sulfur. I have not tested the PH for a long time. I mulched the bed with about 1"-2" of composted wood chips. The 5 plants in the south size (the high ground) did really well and they are about 5' tall, putting out good berries for at least 3 years. But two plants died, one Rubel and one Elliot. At first, I thought drainage is to blame since the plants in high ground did extremely well. But the Northland and Brigitta are in the middle of the rows. The Polaris is the 2nd plant from the south and it has not grown much at all. The bed is not water clogged. So I decided to replant the slow growing ones to another location. When I replanted them today, I mixed with 50/50 peat moss/soil and add 1-2 cups of sulfur and a cup of bone meal in each hole. I hope this will somehow make the PH lower and make the plants happier.

Bonnie: google amaranthus or check out some of the seed sites to see if you recognize yours. If you shake the plumes, lots of little seeds will fall out when they are ready. Usually they are black if they're ripe but a few types have white seeds. They grow easily from seed. You'll enjoy it but I'm not sure that it will overwinter for you so definately collect some seed!

We've been industriously clearing out poorly formed trees and overgrown saplings. The "master plan" is to introduce some carefully selected shrubs to make a graceful transition from lawn and borders to the woodlands on the perimeter of our property. To that end, I've ordered the following books: "The Natural Habitat Garden" by Ken Druse "The Woodland Garden" by Rob't. Gillmore "The Woodland Garden; Planting in Harmony With Nature" by Roy Forster The Ken Druse book arrived yesterday and I've just started it... expect the others next week some time. In the mean time I've been walking the site and just looking carefully (safely under my umbrella). Today, I was able to see that the area is sunny by 8 AM... but now the clouds are back and I'm not sure I'll be able to see when the sun is obscured by surrounding trees. It's a start!