Blueberry bushes

[Straight Arrow]

We just planted six feet high blueberry bushes near our garden in Zone 4 of SW Montana. Bushes came from northern Oregon.
We are requesting advice from any others who have experience with nurturing blueberry bushes and protecting them from birds, deer, wind, and other weather. What say you HT gardeners?

 

[Nick87]

No advice, but they look good. I'm a little jealous.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

We just planted six feet high blueberry bushes near our garden in Zone 4 of SW Montana. Bushes came from northern Oregon.
We are requesting advice from any others who have experience with nurturing blueberry bushes and protecting them from birds, deer, wind, and other weather. What say you HT gardeners?

View attachment 320308

First I had no idea what blueberry bushes looked like... Nothing like the wild low bush I'm used to...


As for birds, I tie reflective tape on and around my raspberries and strawberries to keep the birds away. When it flutters in the wind they get scared and fly away.

Deer you can either do a deterrent like Coyote urine, or put up a fence. Fence is the only real guarantee in my eyes.



Beyond that, if you find yourself in a drought water them with deep cycles of water

 

[BackofBeyond]

Make sure you amend your soils, the more acidic the better.

 

[gouch]

I planted four bushes, three years ago. They tell me that you need to have more than one variety in order to get good pollination. I haven't really researched it, I just planted two varieties. I don't have a deer problem and so far, the birds have pretty much ignored them.

 

[Gellar]

Mine are low blueberry bushes. Ive bought three or four every year in June or July when they go on sale at the nursery, they usually start around $30 in early spring and I buy them when they are $5 or $6. I just put a tomatoe cage around them. It has been so hot and dry here the last couple of years they haven't done as well Id hoped, and Im terrible about watering them.

 

[Mallardsx2]

They look better than mine! hahahaha

We planted these sprouts yesterday. Hopefully the split hoofs don't chew on them too hard.

 

[Irrelevant]

Make sure you amend your soils, the more acidic the better.

SA take this ^ seriously. We've been doing blueberries for a bit over a decade and it wasn't until I finally got out pH below 5.5 that they really started to take off. Now I try to keep it below 5, and they're thriving.

 

[Akcabin]

We have a hapsap variety of blueberry bush. Over 8' around and tall. The birds will eat every berry if not protected. We have plastic mesh over them and if we don't stake the bird mesh to the ground they will climb under the mesh and eat the berries.
The moose tend to prune them for us

 

[MThuntr]

 

[kwyeewyk]

Lots of sulfur, lots of fertilizer, don't let the shallow roots dry out. I add garden sulfur, acidic fertilizer then cover with sphagnum peat and bark from the wood pile each spring, then top dress with more fertilizer a few weeks later.

 

[marshman]

Acidic, ph below 5. Lots of water they like it wet.
Build some fences.

 

[Rzrbk]

Yep, like Back of Beyond and others said, soil ph can be a limiting factor. Years ago, I transplanted quite a few bb bushes that were gifted to me. The soil was alkaline while bb prefer acidic soils. I treated the soil (Myrr acid sp?) and they did very well till I moved. The bb died off when I moved away and no one treated the soil. Hopefully your soil is already good. Ph soil testing kits are easy to find. I had to use netting over the top for birds and fencing for other critters.

 

[glass eye]

First I had no idea what blueberry bushes looked like... Nothing like the wild low bush I'm used to...

On my way up to Alaska we stopped to visit friends in WA and they have a tall bush like this one and it was covered in delicious grape sized blueberries. When we made it to the Arctic the blueberry bushes were low to the ground and very tiny berries. Different varieties.

 

[TheTone]

Had some small bushes for years with basically no production and little growth. It’s almost certainly a soil issue. We will probably dig them up and put them into some type of planter this year so we have more control over the soil.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

On my way up to Alaska we stopped to visit friends in WA and they have a tall bush like this one and it was covered in delicious grape sized blueberries. When we made it to the Arctic the blueberry bushes were low to the ground and very tiny berries. Different varieties.

I suppose. I enjoy the real sour wild berry above the tree line. Yumm

 

[noharleyyet]

We just planted six feet high blueberry bushes near our garden in Zone 4 of SW Montana. Bushes came from northern Oregon.
We are requesting advice from any others who have experience with nurturing blueberry bushes and protecting them from birds, deer, wind, and other weather. What say you HT gardeners?

View attachment 320308

Pie Town!

 

[manitou1]

Yup, low PH and sulphur.
We raised them for 17 years.

 

[Ben Nicholson]

SA take this ^ seriously. We've been doing blueberries for a bit over a decade and it wasn't until I finally got out pH below 5.5 that they really started to take off. Now I try to keep it below 5, and they're thriving.

What do you do to get your pH below 5.5? I just picked up 6 plants but haven't put them in the ground yet. Thanks!

 

[BackofBeyond]

What do you do to get your pH below 5.5? I just picked up 6 plants but haven't put them in the ground yet. Thanks!

Don't be Stingy With It

Also helps if you mulch with pine needles, they'll help maintain the acidity as they decompose.