Blueberries - are they hardy?

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Blueberries - are they hardy?

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nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 05 11:00 pm Post subject: Blueberries - are they hardy?
The question just about sums it up really. Can someone please enlighten me before I stick mine in the allotment? Thanks

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 05 11:18 pm Post subject:
I think so, but wht not be careful and give them a wrap of fleece when its cold?

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 05 7:15 am Post subject:
Our three have been hardy in pots and Wisley have a large collection planted in the ground. They do love acid soil so make sure yours is acid before planting. In the right conditions blueberries will grow to a very large size with 6 foot shoots in a year! SO, they will need plenty of room.

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 05 7:59 am Post subject:
Thanks, am going to put them in the allotment next to the raspberries, then!

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 05 9:45 am Post subject:

i found some links for you, thought you might find it interesting

https://www.gcrda.ns.ca/Nat_Res/aggie.htm

https://www.gma.org/katahdin/bog.html

https://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/historical_plants/83789

https://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/permacult/msg0403432314827.html

both cranberries and blueberries love acidic soil and slightly boggy areas, which is one reason why i don't understand why scotland isn't covered with them... my mil has a boggy patch in her garden in dunoon and i'm always telling her to plant them but she doesn't listen (course this is the same woman growing grapes, cabbages and cherry, all ORNAMENTAL...what a waste, why not grow the real thing

)

i read a bit of an article whilst doing this search, it was about how blueberries grow in the wild in alaska, so methinks they should do ok here

anyway, i thought it might be useful to you.

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 05 11:53 am Post subject:
Thanks for those, Buttery!!

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Sun Apr 17, 05 10:28 am Post subject:

you're welcome nettie!

cranberries in particular are something we really want to grow when we have a decent amount of land. when we get an allotment we'll stick to can fruits but someday when we have our big piece of land with our eco home and we're fairly self sufficient we will have a boggy are dedicated to cranberries (and perhaps another for blueberries).

i love cranberry juice mixed with other juices, raspberry in particular

also dried cranberries are sooo lovely and nice to bake with. and i make my own cranberry sauce which is lovely and i'd be happy to eat it any time of the year not just in the winter!

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 10:34 am Post subject:
I have no personal experience of this, but in the Marshalls Kitchen garden catalogue, they say that ligonberries (sp. I think, or perhaps lingonberries) are more reliable for us than cranberries, but are very similar, Peter. P.S. I think that blueberries must be hardy, since they grow wild in Canada, a country not known for its mild winters.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 11:07 am Post subject:
I did try a cranberry plant but it sulked for a few months and died. The blueberries on the other hand are going well. Just repotted to into black buckets with holes in the bottom as we have chalky soil. One thing to point out is our hens love blueberries and so the pots have to be moved out of site when the berries start to ripen. I think blackbirds also love 'em.

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 12:39 pm Post subject:
maybe the lingonberries are a good idea then, think i'd try both though. as mentioned they grow in the cold of canada so they should grow here as well, though chalky soil is probably not their first choice...

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45421
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 12:41 pm Post subject:
I think the soil's going to be much more of a problem than the cold.

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 05 6:50 pm Post subject: blueberries
both blue and cran berries all grow in bogs in massachsetts - that's marshy wet ground not the little house at the bottom of the garden..........as tahir says it will be the soil that will do for them and not the climate an i prefer my cranberry juice with vodka by the way

Dunc

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 134
Location: Lancashire

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 05 12:43 pm Post subject:
Blueberry bushes generally (and especially the bog varieties) do really like wet ground, so it you have a patch on your plot that tends to hold water, that could be the spot. They can be really productive in our climate, and look fantastic come autumn.

Alchemist

Joined: 02 Mar 2005
Posts: 123
Location: Aberdeenshire

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 05 1:09 pm Post subject:
Blueberries are v. hardy. Ours were left all winter in snow, wild winds, etc and weren't bothered in the slightest. We're up near Aberdeen and the garden saw at least -6 deg C.

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