I bought one Sweetcrisp but all this talk makes me want more! Yeah I know what Scott is saying though. I got a bare root, and it's not that it is bare root, it's in bad shape, so i expect it to do nothing this year, it's a Southmoon though. I have yet to recieve the Sweetcrisp, which is good with 10 inches of snow coming tonight! Also got in a Legacy and it's tough looking and strong, it even had flower buds on it. I cut them all off.
I just may have to order another sweetcrisp! Sounds like you can't have too many...

If pH is right and enough water and nitrogen any blueberry plant will grow like a weed. It doesn't matter how rough or small when purchased provided they have good roots. At least that's my experience. Any that didn't grow rapidly were my error. And that's without any fungi, micronutrients, or whatever else.

In pots the first year is critical. After they get established they are bullet proof by comparison.

Sweetcrisp fruit is in a league of it's own. I was just reading about some other new blueberry and it like many was described as fully crisp. I'm thinking well how many times have I read that. And has this guy eaten Sweetcrisp?

Scott,
If your plant didn't take off, you may need
To give it some encouragement! Have you tried
putting some vinegar in your water to bring your soil ph down?
Look back at Fruitnuts post on adding ammonium
sulfate to water. He gets tremendous growth from
doing that! You can use about a teaspoonful of
21-0-0 to a gallon of water during the growing season. Do
you have them in the ground or pots? What is your soil
Medium if in pots?

"If pH is right and enough water and nitrogen any blueberry plant will grow like a weed. It doesn't matter how rough or small when purchased provided they have good roots"

Exactly my concern the roots, I would say it lost 80%, ripped right off of it. I'm not sure it will even survive, if it does nothing I'll be extremely happy As nothing means it didn't die. I'm hoping the extra stuff will help in recovery. Although I'm not optimistic.

As far as growth the most impressive plants I have seen are Blueboy's. His organic approach is impressive, and all the extra stuff is in the organic fertilizer, fungi, bacteria, micronutrients and sulfur, his 3 year old plants look 6 years old.
I'm converted! I actually will do the same thing with different products, but once I'm out, I'm buying the products he is using.

I see Just Fruits is out of Sweetcrisp, but I emailed them anyway , and they emailed back that they may have a cancelation, so I may just get a 2nd Sweetcrisp, a big one too! Might as well before we can't get them! Not like more vendors are offering them.

This is my 3rd year growing blueberries, and I'm finding it pretty easy, As you say as long as you have conditions right, it's easy.

This post was edited by Drew51 on Wed, Mar 12, 14 at 1:56

My plants had a bad leaf spot when I got them, they were barely staying alive the first year. That may have been a bigger problem than the bare-root. I will check the pH this spring to make sure its good; it was good after I made the bed but I haven't checked it since. They will also get an extra large dose of fertilizer this spring.

Scott

Scott,

An extra large dose is a very bad idea especially if the plants are ailing. What you need is light fertilizer doses often, weekly. I understand the plants may not have much by way of roots but consider this........Millers in Gainesville takes a 6" stem cutting and turns that in to a 2 foot tall plant in less than a year. How? They give them the right conditions and feed them with every watering.

BR, I only have slow release organic fertilizer, should have made that clear. Its difficult to over fertilize with slow release 5-5-5.

Scott

Scott,

Got it. While I realize ammonium sulfate is not organic why not use some to get the plants off and running? I guarantee you the plants were getting it before you received them....Once they are growing well then switch to the organic program if that is what you desire.

The gardenweb appears to delete old posts after 1-2 yrs. So my original post on Sweetcrisp and rapid blueberry growth appears to be toast.

I bought my first Sweetcrisp and several other varieties in April 2010. They looked like this. I started out at 21-0-0 rate shown but think I upped it to 1 tablespoon per 2.5 gal once a week. Water as needed with rainwater in between.

{{gwi:14871}}

Exactly one year later and still in 3 gallon pots Sweetcrisp looked like this and I was hooked on the fruit. Squares on cardboard are one foot.

{{gwi:14873}}

For comparison some other varieties at one year showing much more fruit on several.

{{gwi:75557}}

{{gwi:74743}}

{{gwi:75558}}

This post was edited by fruitnut on Wed, Mar 12, 14 at 11:00

Here's blueboy1977 photos of his plants, again these are not my photos, but nice to have all these photos together

Young sweetcrisp
{{gwi:75559}}

3 year old Sweetcrisp
{{gwi:75560}}

Blueboy has done a great job pruning his Sweetcrisp. It's a challenge with this variety but it does grow like a weed. The hard part is getting it to look as blocky as his. It wants to grow tall and spindly like mine, 4ft tall at one yr.

Fruitnut, they still look good, and producing a lot! It would be cool to know how the breeder developed this one, the exact lineage. I have read about tomato breeders, and raspberry breeders, the process is extremely different, and would be curious about the steps needed to propagate. And curious as the the exact plants used etc. probably in the patent. The Niwot raspberry was an F3 seedling. Interesting, and it took 15 years. The breeder is still working on others. Even asked for help, cool guy.

Drew,

That is easy. Sweetcrisp is a cross between Southern Belle and FL95-3 which is an unpatented variety. The seed was planted and it first fruited along with all of it's fellow seedling in 1996 and was the only plant out of that seed run to be kept and further propagated. Dr. Lyrene is the inventor and is responsible for almost all of our favorite SHB BB.

I agree Blueboy does an awesome job pruning, I just don't have the time for that much close detail. My plants are spaced tighter though so I can't let mine get that wide anyway. You almost have to be draconian with sweetcrisp to keep it compact.

Steve did beat me though, my first set of 25 sweetcrisp would have been planted October of 2010. It took me a solid 4 months of searching to find them though when I did it ended up being just 6 miles from my house lol.....go figure. They were bare root. The second set of 50 (25 were mine) came from True Blue and were potted. Planted those 2 years? later.

This post was edited by bamboo_rabbit on Wed, Mar 12, 14 at 13:08

Thanks for the info, although the patent is quite different from what you say..

`Bluecrisp` originated as a seedling in the University of Florida blueberry breeding program in Gainesville, Fla. `Bluecrisp` and both its pollen and its seed parent are mainly Vaccinium corymbosum L., but `Bluecrisp` and both of its parents have some genes from Vaccinium darrowi Camp. The cross from which the original plant was grown was made in a greenhouse in Gainesville in March 1980. Because the seeds from a large number of crosses were bulked before planting, the exact seed and pollen parents that gave rise to `Bluecrisp` are not known

The Farthing yielded 4 lbs at one yr. Sweetcrisp 1.5 lbs. Emerald and Jewel were only slightly better than Sweetcrisp. The later two probably yield twice Sweetcrisp after a couple years. But they really need part of the fruit pruned off.

Bamboo:

How would you rate yield of Sweetcrisp compared to others? Can you give anyone some guidance? Will it be more than half the top yielders if the top yielders are pruned for decent quaility fruit?

Drew......

That is Bluecrisp, Sweetcrisp is an entirely different plant. I got my information straight from Dr. Lyrene himself so I'm pretty sure it is accurate as he is the inventor.

Steve,

I can give you my opinion on percentages but not exacts as I don't weigh the berries from individual bushes.

I can tell you that I was no where even in the same ballpark as 1.5 pounds from a 1 year old.....at two years they did not produce close to that. Last year they would have done better but I had a irrigation failure and some berries were lost due to a freeze.

Comparing say a 2 year old Emerald to a 2 year old sweetcrisp...the Emerald would produce 10X what Sweetcrisp did so on that we are at odds. Far as Jewel yep I agree with you as they are slow to get in the production groove and I would say they are equal to sweetcrisp in the early years.

If you would have asked me last year or the year before I would have said a mature sweetcrisp might give 1/3 as much as most others. This year though my oldest bushes are loaded and I would say it is probably 3/4 as much as other average varieties (varieties like Emerald and Jewel excluded) their age and I am thrilled by that.

Speaking of Farthing.....I was at my commercial BB friends house last Tuesday and he will be picking in another 2 weeks......way ahead of me but they dormex. His farthing's looked awesome.....just loaded and such nice dark green leaves. It is a variety I don't have but should have got. I have room for 32 more bushes then I am DONE......and all of those will be Ravens.

"Drew......
That is Bluecrisp
"

Oops! Never mind!!

"How early does sweetcrisp bloom in relation to most rabbiteye varieties?"

I'm near Charlotte, c5tiger, and the Sweetcrisp that I bought last spring is pretty much in sync with my assortment of rabbiteyes (all of which are extending flowers) -- some are slightly ahead, some are slightly behind, but there's not a big difference. In comparison to my other southern highbush plants, it's behind O'Neal (which is opening a few flowers), at about the same stage as Scintilla (also new last year), and slightly ahead of South Moon. That being said, all the bushes that I mentioned are potted and overwintered under a frost blanket, and I suspect that those factors do have an influence on bloom time. My neighbor's in ground rabbiteyes are a week or two behind mine.

Very nice Bam, your several weeks ahead of me. I've still got unopened flowers on Sweetcrisp. About half the fruit has set, other half still opening or with flowers falling. Like yours my Sweetcrisp on going in there 3rd season with me and have a healthy fruit set. I actually thinned buds for the first time this year but don't know how if it was really needed or not. I was worried more about fruit weight when ripe breaking branches because of how thin the branches are. Even so, both my 4 year olds look awesome this year! I recently up potted them to 30 gallon pots so they will be in full production next year. I've got two more young 2 year olds coming on strong as well. The only variety that's on your schedule is Springhigh. It's the only one I have right now with no flowers.

As far as Rabbiteye bloom over lapping SHB I think it depends on how far north you are. In my area the only SHB that over lapped bloom with Rabbiteye was Sunshine Blue and it wasn't that much of an over lap either. Up north they will both stay dormant until warm temps arrive and by then both have met chill requirements. Not so in the South.

Fruitnut wrote:
The gardenweb appears to delete old posts after 1-2 yrs. So my original post on Sweetcrisp and rapid blueberry growth appears to be toast.

Is THIS (One and 7 yr blueberry growth with pictures) the post/thread you were looking for?

That's one I was thinking about before I tasted Sweetcrisp fruit. Thanks for finding it.

Fruitnut, that was the post that started it for me. Seems like just yesterday! I was floored when I saw your pics and never looked back. Thanks again for that kick in the butt!!!!

Wanted to share a pic of one of my Sweetcrisp.
I planted this as a liner last July and believe
me it was the smallest liner out of the group
that I received. Planted it 8 months ago in
A five gallon bucket. Used Osmocote sparingly
and supplemented with ammonium sulfate in
water a couple of times last summer also added
some ferrous sulfate to water a few times. Used
vinegar in my water also to bring Ph down.

It looks good! Don't use anymore Osmocote, it has nitrates, which can harm blueberries. If you want a slow release try organics like Holly-Tone, or cottonseed meal. MicroLife Azalea is awesome if you can find it.

Looks great Chad

"Don't use anymore Osmocote, it has nitrates, which can harm blueberries."

It's true that blueberries use ammoniacal nitrogen more efficiently, but nitrate nitrogen, when used in moderation, can be perfectly safe for blueberries. Osmocote offers a blend of the two that's weighted toward ammoniacal nitrogen and should be perfectly safe for blueberries.

Your opinion and many Universities disagree with you. I just want to make that clear, that many experts do not think it is safe. The user can decide for himself or do his own research. Multiple references to why are out there.
Dave Wilson Nurseries say it can kill your plants
U of Conn Extension
soiltest.uconn.edu/factsheets/FertPracBlueberry.pdf

From Cornell:
'Blueberries also have the unique ability to directly absorb the ammonium ion. Most plants absorb nitrate, which is then converted to ammonium by nitrate reductase, before incorporation into proteins. However, nitrate fertilizers can be detrimental to the blueberry.
http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berry/production/blueberryproduction.htm

All that being said, I don't think it will kill the plant. I think
it may not be the best choice. I myself prefer not to use anything that could possibly hurt my plants.
Everybody can make their own minds up. I know many disagree that it is unsafe too. Obviuosly you are one that feels it helps your blueberry plants.

This post was edited by Drew51 on Fri, Mar 14, 14 at 10:08

My opinion is based on personal experience using Osmocote on blueberries, extensive reading here in the Gardenweb forum where other growers (some on a large scale) have reported good results with fertilizers that contain nitrates, as well as university recommendations for the use of ammonium nitrate (in light doses, of course) in low pH soils where acid-forming fertilizers like ammonium sulfate might lower the pH too far. Please understand that I'm not saying that nitrates are the best choice for blueberries -- they're not. I'm merely saying that nitrates aren't by their very nature toxic to blueberries, and that fertilizers that derive a modest portion of their nitrogen from nitrates (like Osmocote) should be perfectly safe.

I prefer to follow the advice of Dave Wilson Nurseies. To each his own.

From DWN:
Check carefully when selecting fertilizers: the nitrogen must not be from nitrate, which can be deadly to blueberries (don't find out the hard way!).

I think shazaam's point is that a lot of this "information" simply gets parroted every where. There is value in people using different methods and products, and it's good to know what works in the real world and what doesn't.

Spectrum Analytic has the most robust information on BB fertilization I have yet run across on the web. Per Spectrum:
"Blueberries, and their relativesâ cranberries, lingonberries, and bilberries have somewhat unique N requirements. They are not able to use nitrate forms of N (NO3-N) effectively. These plants have evolved in soil conditions that do not naturally contain a significant amount of NO3-N and they depend more on ammonium-N (NH4-N). Blueberries take up both forms of N, but they have limited nitrate reductase activity. Nitrate reductase is an enzyme that is needed to convert nitrate to amino acids and proteins. The limited nitrate reductase system in blueberries means that they cannot efficiently utilize nitrate forms of N. Some reports also state that excessive nitrate fertilization can lead to leaf burn."
Note: It is pointed out that soils in which bb's naturally grow are low in nitrates, not absent of any nitrates.

This seems to be a case of the warnings to not use nitrate as the primary source of nitrogen being translated and passed along as "never use any nitrates". Scientific and anecdotal information does not support the assertion that nitrates cannot be present. Just that it cannot be the primary (or a significant) source of nitrogen.

If you look into Osmocote, if temps go over 80 degrees it releases a lot faster. 6 month fertilizer is exhausted in 3 months. Dynamite slow release is a much better product. Same thing happens with it, but it will last 4.5 months (9 month release fertilizer). But this could cause a huge release of nitrates.
Blueberry plants have limited nitrate reductase
activities, meaning the assimilation of nitrate in blueberry
plants could be limited. Luckily Osmocote has a small percentage of nitrates, so I guess no danger, but it's like eating puffer fish, eat enough and it will kill you.
I myself do hold anecdotal evidence in high regard. You have no way of knowing what damage you did by using this product, all you can tell me is the plant survived, and grew somewhat, how much more or less is not quantified in any way, so it's not good info.
I guess being trained in the laboratory sciences, I prefer to go by the scientific studies, which do show lack of performance in blueberries when nitrates are used.

I've got 6 sweetcrisp and used fruitnuts feeding regimine the first year. The turned out great. I want more but they are difficult to get here in california unless you are willing to pay 40$ a plant. So I'm going to root some of my cuttings this year after harvest .... Another note they grow great in San Francisco

I purchased a couple of "sweetcrisp" blueberry plants last year from an online vendor called "BerriesPlus" which is also known as w3Plants / Botanical Growers Network. Does any know if they were selling "actual" sweetcrisps or did I probably get another variety? I received the plants in 14" cones and planted them in 10 gallon pots. Both started off slow but grew quickly with some help from Holly-tone.

I got one Sweetcrisp from Botanical Growers. I think it is true according to the descriptions/discussions on this forum. New shoot tip droops in the summer sun. And the berry has almost no Calyx.

I had a few yesterday. They are crunchier than Emerald. Not really crisp, more meaty like. I am getting another one from Florida Hill Nursery. Hope at least one of the two is true.

Mayadawg, Sweetcrisp is a patent protected variety so any form of propigation is illegal. If you do it, dont announce it!

As BB said they are patented...illegal propagation is why the new upcoming varieties won't be available to most of us home growers.

I don't mind paying a fair price for a patented plant, and most places sell for decent prices except for blueberries, at least some types. If they keep charging those outrageous prices, I will not be buying more.

Ok I thought it was illegal for resale...

Maybe I'll grow some hybrids from seed. now that is legal!
And may result is something really good! A Liberty-Sweetcrisp hybrid, more adapted back to northern zones., prolific producer, and ornamental to boot.

Don't ask how i got them to California now that was illegal lol had to ship to ups store in Reno and smuggle them across the border...

Has anyone been growing a Spartan curious on how they compare?

Since Spartan is a northern, it probably would not do well at your location, it would great at mine. One I'm interested in too, but no more room.

I do agree with you that the markup is a bit nuts.....The commercial guys can buy these 2 foot tall bareroot Sweetcrisp plants for $2 or less. I can buy them for $5 in lots of 100. I'm all for profit but turning around in CA and selling them for $40? or even $20? A bit much.

Bamboo-rabbit
Did you notice what insects pollinated your sweetcrisp.
I had very good bloom and bees found the plant but seemed frustrated at their inability to get their short proboscis into the flowers.
No bumblebees here.

Greendumb,

For the first year ever honeybees worked my BB's, they had always ignored them but maybe a new hive moved in or I now have enough BB to make it worthwhile? Not sure.

95% of the pollination of my BB comes from the southern blueberry bee, It looks like a very small bumble bee with a white dot on it's face. Very docile, you can actually pet them when they are feeding. They collect both nectar and pollen. There are also some type of shiny green fly that works them. Another that is here in large numbers but I don't know how good they pollinate is the skipper butterfly. I also have some sort of small hornet or wasp and they chew a hole in the flower at the base and use that. There are also some large carpenter bee type bumble bees.

Bamboo Look at what this guy sells them for you can grow some out and put them online..

Here is a link that might be useful: 2 or 3 yr old sweetcrisp for sale

Geez........ I really am surprised nobody does that.

Some guy? That's a huge nursery with hundreds and hundreds of plants for sale.