Regarding blueberries and soil pH, the condition of the plant, specifically the leaves, can be, and should be used as the most reliable indication of soil pH. If the leaves are deep green, and they look generally healthy, then the soil must be OK with regard to pH. It is possible for the blueberry roots, and the associated soil microbes, to create a favorable environment for blueberry growth, even though the pH reading a few inches away is higher than optimum. If an acidic solution is used to lower soil pH, it must be diluted correctly or the shrub will be killed for certain. Using our water, supplied by the city, here in Madison, Wisconsin, it takes 6 fluid ounces of 5% white vinegar added to 4 gallons of tap water, to lower the pH to around 6. I have never put straight vinegar down on any of our shrubs, however, I did spill about a tablespoon of 5% white vinegar on the lawn recently, and it did kill the grass! Vinegar will break down in the soil, likely due to soil microbes, and the pH will rise, eventually. That's why its important to have agricultural sulfur, granulated sulfur, in the soil. This material will slowly dissolve and be transformed into sulfuric acid, but the process takes about a year. It is possible to use liquid sulfuric acid, added to tap water, to lower the pH of the water. However, sulfuric acid is not readily available retail. It is relatively dangerous to store in the house, where it might end up in the hands of curious children. Sulfuric acid that is intended for use in storage batteries could contain traces of lead. This would be fine, for the intended use, but lead should never be added to the soil, because it is toxic. If you are going to use sulfuric acid to lower soil pH, you should know where it originated, and you should have an analysis for trace contaminants, including lead. Iron contamination would not be a problem. The pH of the irrigation water will have to be measured, either with a calibrated pH meter, or by means of titration. It is generally easier and safer to work with 5% white vinegar, available at any grocery store, for about $1.50 per gallon. That's why I use it on our blueberries. Agricultural sulfur is harder to find, but they sell it to farmers in 50 lb bags. It is used for growing alfalfa, here in Wisconsin. It is not terribly expensive, I recently paid 79 cents a pound, at a rural farmers co-op.

hsmama11 You may want to wait a 7-10 days before deciding to do anything drastic. Your instinct to water with fish emulsion and foliar feed with seaweed may fix your problem. I have planted both seeds and transplants large and small in the past. Here is my experience. Direct seed planting can produce good results. However seed germination is inconsistent and sometimes takes much longer. Of course there is also the chance of birds, rats or ground squirrels taking the seeds. Transplanting small plants can work well when planted March 1st. As with any transplants make sure the root ball has good contact with the soil and is watered in well. Make sure you prepare the ground properly for transplant and keep the soil moist until the plants take. Transplanting with large plants can work well. The problem with transplants in general is root development. If there is not good contact with soil and transplant. Also if the soil in the container of vastly different than that of the ground you are planting in. If the soil in the container retains water much better then the soil in the ground the roots tend to stunt and stay within the space of the container soil. If this happens the plant will be stunted and produce little if anything edible. However many garden vegetable like Squash, Zuch's and tomatoes will grow roots wherever the plant touches the ground. As an example when a Zucchini is attacked by Squash Vine borers mounding soil around the plant will often result in enough new roots to survive the attack at least temporarily. Thus extending the harvest. If your plants are stunted try mounding some soil around them and water them well. Try to keep the soil moist until the plant is established. If you have extra seeds you may want to start some more indoors just in case this fails. If you have plenty of seeds another alternative is to just pull everything and direct sow using roughly three seeds for each plant you hope to grow. If you end up with more than you need just thin the less vigorous plants.

I have beautyberries and I really like them. They are under large trees and get sun part of the day. The birds have been sitting in the nearby shrubs for weeks waiting for the berries to ripen. Cardinals especially like them. First thing in the morning, I look out and watch the birds checking the berries. We have herds of deer and not one nibble, ever, in fifteen years. As far as I know they have never attracted any varmint and we have all of them in the woods around here. Actually, I think the stems that hold the berries are too flexible for them to climb and the birds eat all the berries before they get a chance to drop. So plant it in part sun, part shade and enjoy a beautiful low maintenance plant.

Tell them to send it here! LOL not really. We get things that are mostly appropriate for our area, most of the things you mention are hardy here and routinely sold. A few more "marginal" things are also sold, but you gotta know what you are buying and take your chances. WHat I hate is people who work in box stores who think they are experts and have the nerve to give bad advice to customers. About a week ago I was a Lowes getting some mulch and this lady asked the "resident expert" with the ASK ME I AM A HORTUCULTURAL EXPERT tag on his shirt to direct her to the selloum philodendrons. I watched him take her directly to the Tropicals section (the selloums are in the Landscape section) and hand her a Monstera deliciosa. She said, "Are you SURE this is a selloum philodendron? My mother in law sent me to get one and I don;t know what they really look like" and he said "Oh yes this is it". Well I just couldn;t let her make that mistake, especially at $12.99 a pop, so I casually walked over and said, "Actually, that's a Monstera deliciosa and is not routinely used in North Central FL for outdoor landscaping, it has only about a 20-30% hardiness rate outdoors here, and that's if it's planted in an EXTREMELY protected warm microclimate of your yard. The Selloum Philodendron is a completely different plant that is 100% hardy here and I will be happy to show you what one looks like if you don;t know". The expert gave me the skunk eye, the woman said THANKS and I took her to the selloums. She was happy to have been spared the wrath of her mother and law and the inconvenience of having to come back and return the wrong plant. I know I should not do this, but I do it all the time when I hear someone giving rotten or incorrect advice or information to customers in box stores.