Blueberry cane or imposter?
This is in the pot of a blueberry plant, but the leaves seem slightly off to me. My mum is convinced it's just a young blueberry cane. I've had these for about two years ... year and a half in these pots (they overwinter in the basement). They're definitely similar, but the leaves feel slightly rougher to me than the perfectly smooth I expect from blueberries, and I think there's some very tiny serration. My mum thinks these stems are coming from the same crown ... there's a cluster coming up to the side of the older canes and pne coming up the back.
Help settle our debate!
Questionable stem:
Leaves:
Base:
Definitely blueberry leaves for comparison:
Base of the other blueberry:
(Ignore the violets in the pots; I'm fine with them ... I did pull the maple trees.)
Comments (11)
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Repotting a Sunshine Blueberry
Comments (12)My biggest Star has been in a 15 gallon pot since 2004. It was repotted the one and only time in 2011. My conclusion at that time was that it didn't need repotting. These things don't build up a huge mass of circling roots like fruit trees. The roots on the outer edge of the rootball weren't that crowded. The Star yielded 18 lbs in 2011 before repotting. I haven't come close to that in the two crops since mostly due, I think, to underwatering the year after repotting. This year it's the biggest ever, too big for the pot, and yielded about 10 lbs. I'm not going to repot. Rather the plant needs about 50% of the canes removed and tied upright so it doesn't get 8ft wide again. That will allow me to keep it wet enough without watering twice a day to get another big crop, I think....See MorePRUNING High Bush Blueberries
Comments (2)Flowersnhens: If you are completely removing older, woody canes, and watching for diseased growth, you are doing the right things. It would be nice to be able to prune back the long producing canes, but unfortunately if you do you will remove the prime fruiting areas of the bushes. You could prune them down in the dormant season if you are willing to essentially forgo your blueberry crop for the following spring and summer. The plants would then regenerate fruiting areas at a lower altitude, but only after a year. Once the load of the fruit is removed, the canes will normally recover their former erect status, and until that time the best way to deal with them is to stake or tie them up if that is possible. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA...See MoreRdV cane hardiness & shade tolerance?
Comments (53)If you have the room just let it fountain. It will be spectacular. I don't have a lot of space so I tie mine up to a trellis but I try and curve the canes around in circles so I get more laterals and bloom. I wouldn't worry about them breaking. They're incredibly supple and tough. She's taken down three different trellises for me already!...See MoreDo I need to do anything to my blueberry bush or is it in good shape?
Comments (8)If the container mix is right, you'll be off to a very good start. :) I would keep an eye on the plant in the top picture. The new leaves are coming in a little yellowish. It's not uncommon for new leaves to be lighter color, but I'm not familiar with them being that pale. Without knowing the light levels, soil mix and other factors, it would be wrong to tell you what to do at this point. other than keep an eye out. Also, I would have used a smaller pot for the little 'Sunshine Blue' plant. Smaller containers are much easier to keep watered and to move around until you find the optimal location on your lot. Better to pot up in a year or two rather than try to make the plant grow into a larger container. Those are minor nits and comments, because the plant in the bottom picture looks great....See More
vgkg Z-7 Va
2 years agoBlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
2 years ago
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
2 years agoDonna R
2 years agoBlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoDonna R
2 years agoBlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
2 years agoBlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
2 years agoI dug up the data I was looking for ... well, kind-of ... it's from VT because I couldn't find the desired dataset for MA, but it'll do for example.
Note how the ground temp goes up in mid-December after a fair bit of cool weather (a.k.a. chill hours) and then the temperatures fall off a cliff for early January and mid-February. Probably only up to about 45°F, but of course that's only one site, surrounding areas could be either colder or warmer.
Fall 2020 showing some lovely variation ... checking local temps, 150 chill hours would have been achieved by the first few days of November, just before the last 60°F average temp peak with 50°F ground temp ...
I'm not convinced Sunshine Blues would stay in dormancy ... They'd have completed endodormancy and entered ecodormancy, which only takes some unseasonably warm weather. Jersey and my other northern highbushes, no problem, still in endodormancy waiting for the other 600-800 chill hours they need. Southern highbush ... foolish error, and I suppose zone hardy, but not really appropriate.floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
2 years ago
Donna R