Carolyn: The two years I attended the blueberry field day and tasting there were something like 20 some varieties as I remember. Not only did we have a tasting where the varieties were rated, we also got to taste the fruit in the field. My impression both years was that the differences between varieties in terms of eating quality was rather small. I'd hope the consumer would be able to decide which they liked best. But we know that's not exactly how it works. Yield is very important to the grower because they get paid by the pound. I'm hoping Sweetcrisp will continue to impress despite it's modest yield. Maybe it can have a future as a premium product that commands a premium price. Blueberry breeding seems faster than most fruits. New varieties arrive quickly so any info from a ways back is mostly outdated. Many of the varieties they spoke highly of in 2002-03 are long gone. Fall Creek Nursery, a major supplier to commercial CA growers and co-host of those field days, has a rapid turnover. Most of their current lineup of southern highbush has been added in the last 8 years. Perhaps Southmoon is the variety you are thinking of. I've never heard of Bluemoon.

Hello tc88, Yes,the Bountiful Blue,Misty,Sunshine Blue and Legacy kept most of their leaves.Some others,like Star and Sweetcrisp,I recently acquired,so I'll find out next Winter. The leaves on some Southern Highbush,like Misty,to me, are kind of funky anyway,so some of them can get kind of crinkly looking,but I don't think I'd call it a disease.They seem to fair well here. This area does get it's share of rain,usually in November and December,but the overcast is the thing.Some places will get a lot of rain all at once and then it will clear up.Here,the gray may stay for a few days with not much precipitation. One Winter,I had to cover the Bountiful and Sunshine because snow was building up on the leaves and could have broken some branches and an ice storm came right after. Brady

If its nursery stock and in 5 gallon pots you would think the plants are at least 3 years old. A nursery is only going to pot up a young plant if they have too. Ive seen bunches of 2 year old blues in 1 gallon pots but have not seen a 1 year old plant in a 5 gallon pot at a nursery. Assuming thats the case your plants should at least be 2 years old. Now being 1 1/2 ft tall is odd for a 2 year old plant unless they have been prunned? Being that small I wouldnt let it fruit this coming spring unless its been prunned down to that size. If it was prunned down to that size then I would let them fruit alittle bit this coming spring but prune at least half of the fruit buds off when they start to swell in Jan. If you prune it right you will remove alot of fruit buds in the process of removing small wood, crossing branches, inward branching etc. From here on you could do your major prune after fruiting and just thin fruit buds in the winter before fruiting. Alot of SHB over produce which can cause problems with Stem Blight. Sunshine Blue is notorious for over producing. I prune mine hard in Jan and again after fruiting to keep it in check. I have a 3 year old Sunshine and last fall it lost most of its leafs by Jan and was very red by that time. This year its holding on to alot of leafs but around 1/4 are starting to turn red. Mine is not flowering yet though so if yours is, it may retain its leafs. Dont know what the climate is like in Berkley and that can have alot to do with how these plants perform in different parts of the country. I have 18 different varieties of SHB and all of them alittle different then the next when it comes to fall color, leaf retention, fall flowering etc.

Evergreen clematis can be kind of like having an elephant in the living room. Gets big, and unmannerly, and rampant. Can overwhelm a small yard. And it looks ratty in winter, even though it's evergreen. Plus, bare at the base, like most all vines. The osmanthus is an excellent choice - evergreen, good bushy habit, pretty fragrant flowers early in spring, takes well to hedging. But yes, slow growing, which will make maintenance easier but you'd be living with the chain link for some time until it fills in. There's an osmanthus delavayi hedge across the street from me and it's gorgeous and it gets no care at all, just an annual trimming whether it needs it or not. Japanese hollies are another common hedge for the size you're talking about. Maintenance free basically, and a very nice glossy dark green with black berries, but not flashy at all. Very serviceable. No noticeable flowers, unlike the osmanthus. Annual vines might be a good idea for filling in temporarily. Or, I have a section of chain link covered with a very heavy duty shade cloth, to keep my dogs from barking at the cats and squirrels in the neighbor's yard. You can use bamboo screening the same way, and it would be more attractive. Once your hedge fills in it would be easy to take out. One school of thought on the edibles next to roads issue is, that what you're buying at the grocery store is already as contaminated with the same kinds of stuff; and that if the pollution levels are so bad that you shouldn't be eating this stuff, then you shouldn't be breathing the air either. We live in an imperfect world. But the blueberry wants to be arching out and I'm not sure how it would take to being sheared into a hedge anyway. Yeah, I was going to point out on the barberry, that they're very thorny and not entirely appropriate for a confined space next to a walkway. Beautiful though.