What type of container mix did you plant them in?

I used a potting mix specifically for rhododendrons and azaleas, to which I added some perlite, a little bit of clay granules and some pine bark.

You worry too much. With regular "real" potting mix, water won't kill the plants. You do need to water the new plantings to get the roots wet. Or the roots can get dry and die.

ed what do you use to measure the pH of your water? I bought some pH strips but the ionic concentration of my water is too low to register on the strips.

The requirements of a very acidic soil condition to successfully grow blueberries is overstated. While they certainly need an acidic soil, they do NOT require one with an acidity range as low as 5.0.

The PNW is home to a very large commercial blueberry industry as well as being the location of the largest wholesale grower of blueberries in the world. We have naturally acidic soils but not overly so - typically around 5.5 to 6.5. Blueberries grow beautifully here without adding any additional acidifiers - robust growth, healthy flowering and fruiting and seldom any signs of chlorosis common to less than satisfactorily acidic soils. In point of fact, the growing guide published by this wholesale grower (who ships internationally as well as across the US) doesn't even address specific soil pH requirements..........only to say that an acidic soil is necessary. Period.

I grow blueberries in containers myself and also use an acid planting mix - like the potting soils recommended for rhododendrons and azaleas - and they grow perfectly well with this type of medium. They also tolerate a lot wetter conditions than many believe. My summer job all through high school was working at a local blueberry farm that was planted on a bog next to a slough. The soil was perpetually wet, even in our long summer dry periods. The bushes thrived. This farm is still there, now a community run park and a designated historical landmark and still has many of its original bushes, now approaching 70 years old!!

Dan, I bought an aquarium pH kit at the local pet store for about $10 or so. I think it measures down to about 5. The pool test kit I tried to use initially just didn't go low enough.

Thanks ed, we have a pool test kit too but it only goes down to 6.8 or so. I'll have to see if I can find a pet store with an aquarium kit.