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Thu, Sep 4, 14 at 17:41
over the last few years I've managed to kill several blueberry bushes & it looks like I'm in the process of killing yet another. I'm in the st Louis area & have a lot of clay in my soil. I've read thru a lot of post on this forum. still considering the area I'm in & the soil does anyone have a variety that they'd recommend? also should I dig up & replant my surviving bushes in a new soil blend when they go dormant this fall? what sort of soil blend is recommended? the varieties I have are Biloxi blue, earliblue, sunshine blue, misty, & duke. there's no photo of the duke bush but it's down to 3 green leaves & is likely a lost cause.     |
This post was edited by rober49 on Thu, Sep 4, 14 at 17:43
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| HI It is essential that blueberries (and other vacciniums) are planted in ericaceous soil or compost. They are lime hating and acid loving. Any other medium and you might as well say good bye to them. They are also marsh plants and love being around water. I use 30 litre pots stood in 5inch deep troughs - so they are up to their 'ankles' in water at all times. Feed them only on a good, organic ericacious feed every couple of weeks or so. Since I started growing them this way I have had bumper crops every year. Hope this helps. |
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| what would you blend to come up with ericaceous soil? |
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| You need to find out what the PH of your soil is and the water that you give them also. This is were you start. Once you know those two things you will be able to start analyzing potential resolutions to problems. Good Luck Rober49 |
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| I mix together Conifer(Pine or Fir) bark mulch and Peat moss in about a 70/30 to 60/40 ratio. Yes,high pH irrigation water could be a major culprit. Brady |
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| You can add battery acid to your water to keep it acidic. Around 5.0. You'll need a way to read PH. If you're not willing to change soil, or acidify water, it's tough to keep alive. |
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| I have some muriatic acid leftover from a job. would that be too harsh. i'll do a ph test & add suitable mulch. I ask again though, would it help to replant them in proper soil after they go dormant this fall? |
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| If they are still alive by the time dormancy hits they need to be transferred into a proper soil. Waiting till they are dormant is what I would do. Transplanting now with little of the season left would shock them and they do not have enough season left to get over that shock. Coming out of dormancy in a proper media would give them a fighting chance. |
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| Yes wait till the fall for sure to amend soil. And no you cannot use Muriatic Acid. it is not good for the environment, people or plants. You can use sulfur when you replace soil. Probably best to do so. They sell sulfur for soil, elemental sulfur. Even though the soil we suggest is already low in PH. It's like adding salt to Lake Michigan. The water is still fresh no matter how much salt you add. The surrounding soil will pull the hydrogen out of your soil. So adding sulfur, and mulching with pine bark fines, or peat compost will be a yearly thing. Use acidic fertilizers once plant recovers, like Holly-Tone, Cottonseed meal, Ammonium sulfate, or other commercial acidic fertilizers. Usually labeled for azaleas. Blueberry plants have a hard time with nitrates, so regular fertilizer can hurt the plants. As many contain nitrates. It's worth it! I picked my last handful of blueberries for the season about a week ago. |
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| drew-you just had to rub that in, eh? just kidding. I'm watering with an acid base fertilizer with vinegar added until they go dormant. at that time i'll amend the soil with peat & oak sawdust the duke bush has one small stem left that's green so it's got to be a goner. I found a chandler variety locally. what climate do they prefer. are there specific varieties that would do well here? ( st Louis, mo ) |
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| You know the more plants you kill the better gardener you are! I had to kill a few plants to get that handful of berries! Luckily none were blueberries thanks to the guys here! St Louis is zone 5? If you contact your local University extension office they can advise you on cultivars for your area. I use MSU. You guys probably have an MSU too!? They should have a web site with info. |
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