Blueberries

[RMAC]

Hello
I'm thinking of planting some blueberries and was wondering if anyone has an opinion on which would be the best to plant? I'm looking for one with a sweet berry.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions and also any tips for growing them would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Ross

[Totally Scrambled]

Hello Ross,
Greetings and welcome to The Lane
I don't have a clue about blueberries I'm afraid but I'm sure someone will be along soon.
Dom

[lancashire lass]

Sorry, I can't help you with a known sweet blueberry variety. I have 5 different varieties on my plot - to be honest I can't remember which ones I have (Bluecrop sounds familiar), but they all have something slightly different from one another in terms of fruit size, ripening stage and quantity. Blueberries generally are all on the sweet side but often the flavour is more pronounced in the least of the sweetest. When it comes to blueberries, I think having a high yield would be high on my list - as more often than not there is competition between me and the blackbirds (about to challenged with netting this year!) but even if protected, a single bush rarely has enough berries ripeing at the same time. There are early, mid and late season fruiters so getting a selection of varieties would allow you to extend the season. Blueberries may be self fertile, but pollination improves if there is more than one bush.

[Homemade]

Agree with LL. We have several plants and they are all nice and give us a long season of crop.

[Mrs B]

We were given a blueberry bush as a wedding present in 2006 and it has cropped every year since. Last year despite the bad weather we filled 4 or 5 punnets with fruit, with better weather we get much more fruit.

Ours is in a pot at the front of the house where it thrives in full sun, the key is to use Ericaceous Compost and keep it moist.

Sorry have lost the label so not sure which variety it is. As an added bonus the leaves turn a gorgeous red in autumn before they fall

[lancashire lass]

Ours is in a pot at the front of the house where it thrives in full sun, the key is to use Ericaceous Compost and keep it moist

forgot to mention that blueberries like soil on the acidic side and need to be kept moist. When I moved the established blueberry bushes from my garden to the plot, I found they had huge roots but were shallow and spread out horizontally so do give them plenty of room to grow. Mulching helps to keep the moisture in the soil and is highly advisable. Also, give them a spring dressing of potash recommended for flower and fruit production.

As an added bonus the leaves turn a gorgeous red in autumn before they fall

the autumn colours really are spectacular:

[RMAC]

Wow. Thanks for all the replies. Lots of helpful information there. Off to have a look to see what they have at my local garden centre later on.

Thanks again

Ross

[Mrs B]

Ross keep an eye on the Al-di and Li-dl newletters as they often have blueberry shrubs

[RMAC]

Thanks Mrs. B i will keep an eye out for those. I have in the meantime bought one from the gardening centre. I went for the 'Patriot' variety in the end as the assistant at the shop recommended it for its sweet flavour. Got a good price too!