Grow Your Own Magazine

Help!!!!

Having recently become an avid fellow 'Greenfinger' we were brought a blueberry plant for the garden.

I have potted it in a terracotta pot and it is now situated in a partially sunny area (well when the sun is out these days!). It has been potted in a mixture of top soil and compost and it's not doing well, to say the least!

I understand it should be an evergreen but currently the leaves are green in the very middle with a red ring round it and the outsides are going brown and crisp!

Does anyone know what I can do to help save it????

I look forward to hearing from anyone who can help!!

Hi
I've been reading a little about blueberry bushes as I'm thinking of getting some for next year. Apparently they like ericaceous compost because they are acid soil lovers. Other than that I can't help any further - hope you get it sorted out.
Clare

Hi McFannon and welcome to the vine. I was thinking about getting a blueberry bush and asked a few questions a while ago. If you do a search on 'blueberry' you should come up with some advice. You can grow them in pots but you must use ericaceous compost and I also read somewhere that you should water them with rainwater instead of tap water. Hope this helps.

Have a look on the Dorset Blueberry company's website:

http://www.dorset-blueberry.com/

They've got lots of useful blueberry growing tips.

This is the first time I have used a forum, so can I just say many thanks to all of you for your help!

Thats fantastic, looks like it maybe the soil it's currently in!!

I shall give it a try and see if I can nurture it back to health before I kill it completely!

I grow a forest of Blueberries and the soil is the most important thing, use ericaceous compost, preferaby a John innes type as this is a bit heavier and holds onto moisture a bit better. Change that as soon as you can. Dont worry about using tap water if you have to although rainwater is preferable. Finally, the leaves will go fabulously "autumnal" in colour at this time of year so that is nothing to panic about.

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Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated - Sunday 19th at 2100hrs

It has only been this year that we have put our blueberries into ericaceous compost as we repotted when we moved house. The difference is amazing - they have grown so much!

Mel

Could you maybe give it a bit of an ericaceous feed as 'medicine', to help it on the road to recovery?

If you really can't swap the soil then water lots of sulphate of iron into the pot which will increase the acidity, its not the best option but will help.

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Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated - Sunday 19th at 2100hrs

I have changed the compost now, so hopefully I will see it spring into life shortly!

Having had the rain we had this weekend, I don't think I have a problem watering with rain water

Thanks for all your help!

Signed a no longer worried blueberry plant owner

I hope you know that they do drop their leaves come winter and that the leaves tend to go red-brown and then drop. Just in case...

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Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales