Grow Your Own Magazine

My blueberry bush was very small and i put it in ericaceous compost in a tub and gave it rain water and it was doing well and had a few little flowers on it but now they have gone brown and started to drop off, it was outside and doing ok, but i put it in a corner and it dried out but only a little, and i was wondering why this happened and what i can do if anything to save it!
hope someone can help!

Hi

I'm not a blueberry expert, but I wonder whether it got too dry? I think they like the soil to be quite moist. Mulching the soil will help to keep the moisture in.. You might need to regularly top up the container with (dare I say it) peat to keep the soil ericaceous.

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Could it have got frosted? I have one in a pot outside and it is full of flowers. I brought it into the greenhouse to avoid the frosts of a couple of weeks ago but it has been outside for over a week now. Hopefully it will recover although you may have lost most of this years fruit.

Thanks guys,
maybe it was the frost!?! i thought they were quite hardy, will put in greenhouse now and will mulch too, thanks

I heard Bob Flowerdew on gardeners question time comment on blueberry bushes.He said the soil needs to be permanently wet not just moist.
I am no great fan of GQ TIME.Its mostly a bit high brow,with little good basic advice.

I had an unexpected death last year. Have a look at: Blueberry Diseases in Michigan

I have put my death down to a canker. I believe that you would not find it in the compost, and although some rare pines may transmit it, I think that it is a problem with the stock.
It would be worth checking the pH if you have lots of plants as problems are similar.

I grow mine as according to Bob Flowerdew and stand in soft water. The guy is unbelievably good with fruit, some of his articles in the Guardian are amazing. The reason I give behind it is to promote anaerobic conditions. This creates ammonium as opposed to nitrate and the right microbial communities for this to take place. I have read that blueberries need ammonium the most. I agree that is some soils however, the conditions may already exist through low pH and so do not dispute that this is necessity.