fertilize newly planted blueberry bushes or wait.

Hello everyone,

Here is the blueberry question of the day.
The planting instructions from the grower said to wait 4-6 weeks before fertilizing... But the bag of organic fertilizer that I bought says to add fertilizer when planting new plants...

It is Dr. Earth fertilizer for acid loving plants. N-P-K is 4-5-4. Nutrients are derived from conttonseed meal, fish bone meal, alfalfa meal, feather meal, mined potassium sulfate, kelp meal and seaweed extract. Sounds yummy if you're a blueberry plant, doesn't it? It says to mix it into the soil -- unfortunately too late for this, as I've already planted them. Says to put another cup around each plant.

I'm thinking I'll go ahead and do this -- any thoughts? Thank you!!

 

Funny, I have never thought of fertilizing my blueberries. They have continued to produce lots over the years without it.

I would definitely go with the growers recommendations. Just remember that blueberries like rhodedendrons like to keep the soil at their original root height...does that make sense??

Too much mulch or soil over the root mass will interfer with bloosom production.

Blueberries are definitely my favorite fruit with absolutely no care other than watering. Sooo sweet.

 

Thanks guys. Jewell, your input is interesting. Do you check the ph of your soil? Or know about what it is at your house? I've been trying to get mine down to below 6 and it's hard to do. (Not that the fertilizer question had anything to do with the ph question...) My next door neighbor has two that are quite happy to be crowded by flowers and treated no differently...

 

Yes, you're right about that Eileen.

 

MaryAnn,
Blueberries are grown in old bogs in the area commercially, huckleberries are in the woods and rhodies, the state flower, grow wild, so I figure I have the natural habitat for blueberries and rhodedendrons.

When you grow something that is grown naturally in the area its a slam-dunk. I was thinking that your area is similar, and I have heard that Maryland grows some things very similar to western Washington.

I could be terribly wrong about our similarities. Please take anything I say with a grain of salt or maybe two. I am a very lacadasical gardener. I try a lot of different things and find that if it needs fertilizer and soil testing it won't survive in my yard for long.

The best home grown berries I have ever seen came from friends that built a large cement lined pit, filled it with decaying logs from the woods. It has the largest blueberry plants I have ever seen (12-14 feet tall). They invite people to come and harvest during the summer and the berries are HUGE.

The only other place I have seen blueberry bushes that tall are in the bottom of commerical bogs. The bushes farther up on the slopes are shorter and more like my own. (We used to go and pick for summer money when my son was little). They don't fertilize beyond manure. When you have a small yard short is OK.

I get plenty of berries from my four plants, and seldom water other than overflow from the fish pond. Water really determines the size of the berries from my observations. My plants are over thirty years old in my yard (probably older since they were pulled from a defunct blueberry farm).

Blueberries are definitely the best of the berries. My raspberries and strawberries come and go through the years and take so much upkeep. My blueberries add interest year round plus the great taste from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

I did find that the first few years they took a bit of settling in and more water, but that was the whole of it. They take the least amount of care of any fruit I have ever grown. I have probably just been lucky, but I hope that you are as fortunate.

 

Thank you Jewell -- I really enjoyed reading this. You know a bunch of different ways people grow blueberries... really interesting stuff. That cement pit sounds amazing. Do they have to add more decaying stuff each year?

I've become fascinated with blueberries since I decided to grow a few. I've talked to a bunch of people around here and they've told me all manner of experiences. It's been kind of funny. Some say that they've done nothing special and the blues failed... that they've done everything right and failed... that they've done nothing special and had success (my next door neighbor falls into that category)... so I don't know what to expect! I've put reasonable (I think) efforts into preparing a nice bed for them and the fertilizer I bought sounds good. I've run a soaker around them to make it easier for me to water them. I am really excited to see how they turn out.

You mentioned blues doing so well in the bogs... that makes me think it would be hard to overdo it with the peat.

You know, Bunkie is going to grow some bushes from the same grower I got mine from -- she's in Washington too, but eastern rather than western. So! Even more interesting info ahead as we see if they turn out differently.

Anyway, thanks again. It will be fun to see how they turn out here.

 

Good luck MA! Bunkie is in a totally different climate from here. Much drier with warm summers and cold winters.

To answer the question whether they add more mulch to the cement planter (its about 30x30 feet). I am sure they add bark occasionally because they bark all the paths regularly. It is really a beautiful and extensive garden. With all the rain it doesn't take many years for the bark to break down totally.

When the racoons were destroying my fish pond I actually thought of turning it into a blueberry container following their model.

If your neighbors do well with their berries, you have a great source on what to do locally. It is such a treat to be able to go out and pick some berries for snacking every day. It was recommended to have two bushes for every family member. I am afraid I munch away on ours as they ripen. A little snack everyday as I work in the garden. Poor David doesn't get many.

 

Hiyah Daisy,

Just popping-in for a sec.
Normally I sprinkle a small amt. of bone meal in the hole and around the plant when I plant it.

The NPK of the fertilizer that you mentioned are values on what I call the "low side", so I don't think that adding it now will hurt the plants.

I do not actually give my plants any fertilizer to speak of, only a sprinkle of bone meal some years...I concentrate on the contiunuous build-up of azalia soil, pine needles and pine bark chips yearly.
I do have to water them during certain dry periods during the summer. I do this with canal water...NEVER TAP WATER. I use rainwater or canal water, as tap water is too alkaline, which defeats the purpose of all one's efforts to get the ground acidic. This goes for the strawbs as well.

I like to experiment with plants and methods alot, but I do not alter the way I handle my blueberries because I have been successful until now and I know that they can be difficult sometimes...sort of a "ïf it isn't broken, don't fix it" mentality.

Handling blueberries successfully is sort of like shooting an arrow at a target who's bulls-eye is not circular, but amoebic in form, if you understand what I mean. You can be close, but still miss, but when you land in the red then it's all easy-peasy and you donj't have to do much at all.


Good luck Daisy. Please do keep us posted on the blue's progress.

 

OK Sjoerd, thank you.... that is what I wanted to hear -- that this fertilizer won't hurt them at this point. I have read where they are sensitive to overfertilization. But then, I've also read the opposite... So, yeah, I totally get that amoeba shaped bull's eye analogy. I picked up some pine bark mulch yesterday. There are lots of pine cones in my yard -- should I start tossing them into the blueberry bed?

Jewell, I am sure hoping to be snacking on some blueberries as I check things out this summer. Figs too. Thanks for your input.