If you enjoyed this video, please “Like” and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching ☺️TIMESTAMPS for convenience: 0:00 Intro To Growing Blueberries 0:47 Highbush VS Rabbiteye Blueberries 3:37 The Common Blueberry Problem 4:51 My Blueberry Growing Strategy 7:41 Protecting Blueberries From Birds 8:13 How To Double Your Blueberry Season 10:16 Adventures With Dale
I use a soccer goal frames to net my berries that are next to my house. I got one for free and it worked so well I bought another one. You can slide it around and even stand under it and add any kind of netting or fabric to keep pest and weather out 😊
last year i added the bushel and berry collection to my garden. I have berry plants hanging off everywhere. these varieties seem to grow and produce very well in small pots as they were designed and you can hang them anywhere off your garden or the house. when you are limited on space something like this is amazing. it can be hard to find a big enough hanging planter for a permanent home but i use 14 inch and i plan to root prune every few years as needed. when you have big wooden posts in your garden like you do they are perfect for hanging off that utilizing more vertical space and for people with deer issues you can just hang them to high for the deer.
In central GA, zone 8a, I planted two pineapple guava bushes. Originally they come from south America. They are doing great! No bugs at all, no frost damage, grows like a nice bush or you can train it like a miniature tree. The only down side is it takes 5 or more years to begin bearing tasty pineapple guavas, and if you want, the flowers are like cotton candy to eat. I have one over grown bush needing pruning. I am thinking this fall of buying bulk nursery pots, then propagate the pruned branches into new bushes to sell next late spring. If this is successful, I plan to go to Smiley's flea market in south Macon to sell them in nice planters so I can get more gardening equipment. This is a fantastic bush!
The way for me to (more than) double my harvest is to pick them at the first blush of color and let them ripen indoors. If I let them ripen on the bush, the birds will get EVERY. LAST. BERRY. I can hear mockingbirds out there right now as I write this. I have tried netting and various completely useless scare methods, but nothing works like getting the berries while I can.
Great information! I cringed when you "picked" those berries though. In order to obtain the sweetest, most ripe berries you tickle them. The ones that fall into your hand are at the perfectly ripened stage and will be the sweetest. If you have to pull it from the bush, it's not fully ripe - even though it appears perfectly blue.
A friend gave me a bunch of starts from her blueberry bushes. She has a number of different kinds but no idea which varieties! I can't wait for them to grow to a size where they will start producing! My neighbor across the street has two huge bushes that are over 20 years old. They get buckets and buckets from them! Thank you for all of your tips! I'll know which kinds of blueberries to fill in with in the future!
One of my favorite plants. My link lemonade is swelling up just now, started picking a few this morning. Others are done for the season and others are still coming along. Couldn't agree with this video more.
Great video! Love blueberries ❤I pulled out decorative bushes last fall and put in blueberries 🫐 They are beautiful shrubs & I get to enjoy the harvest 😋
Thank you so much for this video. You always teach me something new. I recently got a second blueberry plant and didn't realize that it wasn't a southern high bush like my first plant. Now I know I'm going to have to get another one so I can get a bountiful harvest on it when it finally flowers.
I've tried the same thing in Zone 8a Maryland. Like you, I've seen more winter damage on the Rabbiteye types, even in mild winters. The other approach is to have a variety of Northern Highbush--Reka, Bluecrop, Liberty, Ellliott will give you a long season, as well.
@@blessisrael6455 The Rabbiteye may work for you. I just have a little more confidence in the Northern Highbush, as they are the types that most of the local farms grow. I talked to one garden center owner who said that we are in a weird zone where we can grow all types, though we're not perfect for any of them. The most important thing I've learned from the whole experience is that you need to get the soil Ph correct--4.5-5. True Vine Ranch, a mail order nursery in Kansas (yes, Kansas!) that specializes in blueberries recommends planting them in 100 percent peat, though I don't think that is entirely necessary as Maryland soils tend to be more acidic than their limestone soils. You can use soil sulphur, as well, though it will take at least half a season to kick in. If I had to plant them all over, I think I would have a plot of Northern Highbush with Reka, Bluecrop, Chandler, Liberty, and Arden/Last Call/Elliott. In the same plot, I would have Sweetheart, a Northern/Southern Highbush hybrid. Then, for fun, I would try a few Rabbiteye and Southern Highbush varieties. O'Neal, a Southern Highbush, has done well for me, practically neglected at the edge of a forest.
@@capeflatterytrail I bought one pink lemonade (it’s all they had left at Lowe’s) it was the last one, most the leaves fell off like it was dying; needless to say, buying my first tree I learned an important lesson: never buy a plant/tree on impulse w/o researching first; I’m on the fence on blueberry trees, it’s one high maintenance tree; If it was a couple yrs ago, I’d invest more time and $ but I’d rather invest in a tree I know will survive for several years when things get much worse… a tree I know will survive in a situation where I know I wouldn’t have any $…. very low sustenance; I first planted it in %100 peat moss then took it out and replanted it with %20 coco coir (one video said it needs something with drainage and I don’t have any vermiculite) and also bone meal then poured a mixture of vinegar with water; I bought a PH stick for fermenting, it’s time to open it…….
@@blessisrael6455 I totally understand. I tried three times before finding a method that seems to work. I also should note that I grow mine in raised beds. That way I can control the conditions more and ensure good drainage. On a side note, blackberries are easy. All I have to do is stick them in the ground.
@@blessisrael6455 I totally understand. It took at least three tries to finally get blueberry bushes to produce. Once you get them established, though, they can be pretty low maintenance. Here is what finally worked for me. 1. I planted them in raised beds with mostly peat moss. 2. I feed them Hollytone every four weeks from March through August. 3. Reka was the variety that turned it all around for me. It's a newer one and the most reliable of the entire lot. One of the best investments I made for the rest of the garden was getting a soil test from University of Delaware. It gave me accurate Ph, along with soil type, composition, and nutrients. As for things that don't require much maintenance, do you like blackberries? I just put them in the ground, and they take off, maybe too much.
Just wanted to share about my blueberries, they are over 10 years old, we build a neted enclosure around them to protect from birds...its a bit crowded, 3 blueberries and one BlackBerry, they all like the acidic soil from the pines growing near by, we through pine cones, small sticks and pine needles for mulch in there, plus I prune them each winter. I know one variety is ( Duke), the other I think Jersey something...i can't remember we live in PA
@@JDuzzle yup. Have 4 varieties at my place . 2 early, 2 mid. Too hot for late but I have wild blueberries by the hundreds of plants in my woods and they keep us busy on late anyway
@@bch5513 I dream of living somewhere where we have abundant wild blueberries. In Wisconsin, we have tons of wild blackcap raspberries and mulberries, and can sometimes find blackberries, but wild blueberries would be amazing.
I grow two rows of the rabbiteye line-up listed below and we have tons of fruit getting ready to ripen in their third year! Some plants have already reached 5' tall. I did a lot of homework (too much according to my wife lol) to find successive ripening varieties and have concluded that this is definitely an effective way to get the most out of your rabbiteye blueberry season. • Centurion • Ochlockonee • Tiff Blue • Powder Blue • Alapaha • Vernon
I have 29 varieties, for a grand total of 43 Blueberries. I have 4 little boys that love blueberries, and I also believe the economy is going to crash and a One world Government is coming so you can eatz the bugs own nothing and you will be happy.
Thank you very much for the video😊 here in the pnw with all the rain we get a lot of mummyberry people use a thick layer of sawdust after the berries fall to keep the little mummy berry shrooms from spreading their spores
My sister in law living in the mountains of north Georgia has wild blue berries growing there. So, you left out another category! I am thinking of getting some of those boshes to plant in central GA around oaks and pines as they are doing there. It will be a fun experiment.
I think we can only really grow various varieties of Highbush here in MA. We mostly grow Patriot, which is a Norther Highbush. It loves the super acidic soil (pH 5.0) with tons of oak leaves for mulch! About a month ago, I had fun vacuuming all of the dog fur off of the carpet going up my stairs! I get that pleasure two times a year.
I am in Australia in a rural SE Queensland area and I have 6 bushes. 2 very tall bushes that don't produce a lot of berries yet. 2 medium height bushes that also don't produce an overabundance yet. And 2 very short bushes that give me a massive amount and bear for 7-8mths. All are 5yrs old now and came from NZ with localized names that I don't remember and never represented their parentage. They were supposed to be either lowbush or Southern highbush with one rabbiteye in the mix of 8 originally. Some have very small leaves while the remainder have quite large leaves well spaced along the branches. I prune them pretty hard and wonder if I am overpruning. But I have no idea what they sent. I am just trying my best to get a good crop and last year they gave me fruit for 9mths. This year is colder so perhaps it will be less or conversely more but all at once. We are just going into winter now but the highbushes are flowering and setting lovely fruit. I know when the fruit is at its peak for picking because it blows up to double its size overnight and is huge the next morning. Before then it will be a tiny bit acidic. But on the day it blows up, it is sweet and juicy. They all live in massive pots of potting mix because my dirt, such as it is if you could call it soil, is stony and very alkaline. I fertilize them with Hydrangea and Azalea fertilizer mostly. They get about 2-3tsp fertilizer every month or 5wks with less in winter. They are healthy and insect resistant which is unusual for plants here. Most suffer from disease due to the alkalinity and thin soil which is less than 3-4inches. Under that is yellow schist or heavy clay gravel and white clay that is far too hard to dig in without a machine. Ants eat everything here, no bacteria or fungus in this dirt! The bushes sit on pedestals in huge saucers of water. They require watering every day unless there has been 6-10ml. That's about 1/5 to 2/5 inch of rain which is not common here. I always find it interesting how well others grow their berries and how hard it is for me but that I am still getting a reasonable crop. So I can't complain too much! 😊☺
I hear you about the birds. I get black birds and mocking birds along with Bluejays and Cardinals who will come strip my plants clean if I don't, so I also put "MESH" nets over them. I use the mesh like you do because standard bird netting kill birds and to me they should be illegal. The large squares seem to always kill birds so I have stopped using them. But just before the very last of my bushes I will uncover and let the birds get the last of them. I find some birds will pick many of your unripened berries as well long before they get ripe here in NE TX.
I'm actually in NE Texas as well, if you don't mind me asking, what varieties have you been growing, for how long, and how successful has it been? I'm starting year 2 with 3 pi k lemonade blueberry plants that I planted just because I thought the variety seemed interesting from my local tractor supply lol
Great video Anthony and thank you for sharing. Maybe you could do a side video in caring for them. We are heading into Winter from Autumn here in Melbourne Australia and l have noticed one variety of blueberries l have, has had all leaves change to a reddish colour. I am confident with my soil and fertilizer but there are mixed answers on the internet about this being normal for colder times to deficiency of certain minerals. I have 3 varieties but only 1 is affected by this change. All have the same soil and fertilizer. It would be nice to see a specialised video on blueberries. Best wishes Jason from Melbourne Australia.
our blueberries are juz still blooming, we harvest around June..our backyard are grown with lots of wild low bush, and on d side of our house are the high bush ones ...
Yay! 🫐 So far this year my blueberry bush has more berries than ever. Took them 2 years to get going. Hoping for some fresh delicious berries this year 😊
I definitely want to add some southern highbush varieties to my yard here in Harnett Co. I'm not really a content creator but I do have a video up from a day or 2 ago of my 3 rabbit eye bushes. They wont be ready until the middle or end of next month but the largest one is almost 10 ft tall and has 3 or 4 dozen shoots.
An unseasonable hard freeze with temps below 23F wiped out the blossoms on my blueberry plants, ending any chance of ghetting fruit until next year. Another tip for high production is to check soil PH. Blueberries like slightly acidic soil between 5.5-6.5 on the PH scale. Neutral PH soil, 6.8-7.0, will cause the plants to struggle, and die. Fortunately, I have Seascape Strawbeeries to get me through the spring and fall. (Alabama zone 7B, maybe 7A after last years freeze, 7F).
They are slow to get growing but eventually can get pretty large. They aren’t as vigorous, but they’re prolific. One bush can churn out a lot of berries.
I noticed. The birds that tear my blueberries apart are the cat birds. I net mine now, too, but I use netting that bees can get in and out because the birds will eat my blueberries even when not ripened. In fact they even attack the flowers on mine. It's aggravating even though I get it. They're sooo good. I got around a 5 gal bucket full from 5 plants. 2 are 20 years old! Still giving tons.
About 5 years ago we planted 2 bushes, both different I believe, but no recollection of what they are. This year, for the first time, we have some blueberries growing on one of the bushes. They are blue, so I guess about ready to be picked. I also live in Brunswick County NC, so would it be a good bet that these are both southern high bush varieties? Thanks for the great videos!
Question: if I grow the Southern and the Rabbiteye how far apart do they need to be from each other? Thank you so much for your channel, I come from a gardening family but still am learning new practices from you. I have started straw bales, thank you, as we have the bales every winter around the north side of our chicken coop. Thank you again. 🙏🙌❤️
That depends if you want to prune them. If you are going to be on point with pruning, you can plant them pretty closely. I think mine are about 4-5 feet apart. You can put them closer if you are going to prune them well, but if you want to be more neglectful, a 6ft spacing is probably ideal. Blueberries are slow growers, but they will eventually get fairy large.
Thank you Anthony. Great information. Do you have any advice on plum trees with large plums? Aw hi Dale. You are getting all the attention. Lol 😆 Love yall. ❤
Interesting…I have 8 rabbiteye plants and just got a Duke highbush this spring. Did not know it won’t cross pollinate with the rabbiteyes though, so I’m thinking I’ll get a Star like you have as it seems to be doing great. In zone 7b. Thanks for the info as always!
Hey there…thank you for all the informative videos you are kind enough to share with newbies like me! Im located a few hours south of you in the MB area. I just planted my Legacy Highbush today. What category is this type of blueberry in? Thank you, sir.
On the Southern Star with the lower chill hour requirement, what it bottom temps needed. Here in Central Texas I'm not sure we get cold enough, long enough.
We grow 6 varieties of southern High Bush blueberries in zone 6b/7a. we start harvesting approximately June 1 each year. Our last harvest is around the middle of August. We have selected our sub-varieties based on estimated budding dates so the early one's bud in late Feb to early March and the late one's bud in late March to mid-April. I would be interested in seeing if I could get some Rabbit eyes to be harvestable from August 1 to September 1.
I have two high bush and two rabbit eye blueberry bushes, first year and have picked from one high bush and one rabbit eye. My pink lemonade hasn’t even fruited. I have mine in 25 gallon pots with strawberries at the base.
Hi, I live in southeast Louisiana. My husband brought me 2 blueberry plants earlier this year. And before long I had flowers and then blueberries. I don't know what variety they are. They are kinda short. And I did get some blueberries and I didn't have a problem with the birds getting to them. One of the plants has little black spots on some of the leaves. What am I doing wrong? I am hoping that because they were still young I will get them healthy and have a better yield of blueberries next year. I just finished picking the last ones about a week ago and we are in July. Thanks so much for any help! Denise
Yay! I did pretty good choosing my blueberries. I moved to NC from SoCal last year. In the fall, I replaced some unattractive rosebushes with 2 Tifblue and 2 Powderblue rabbiteyes. I also planted 2 O'Neal southern highbush because I thought they could cross pollinate the rabbiteyes. All 6 plants are loaded with berries but none ripe yet (I'm in the Piedmont, 7b). I could plant 2 more southern highbush but they'd be about 20' away from the O'Neals and more shaded. Is that close enough for pollination, and, if so, what variety would you recommend? We also use a Furminator brush for our Chocolate Lab and it is fantastic! Can I spread the fur around my garden to deter pests? The squirrels are awful and the dog spends most of his time in the house (he's old) so they don't really perceive him as a threat unless he's actively chasing them.
After the cuttings develop a small root system, where should they be placed over winter? Can they be planted outside in the garden or should they be placed in a cool location inside like a basement to overwinter?
Hi I know it doesn’t have to do with this video but what size pot are those self watering container’s that you have your citrus in. Thanks and loved the video
Ever consider not everyone has the room to do that? In my yard we have so much shade I only have one spot that gets enough consistent sunshine to grow blueberries so I am limited on how many I can plant. Others have the same or similar obstacles to deal with. He gave great advice and never said it was the only way to double your berry crop, just one way. So check your attitude at the door, be grateful for folks like this guy who gives us so much wonderful, helpful advice FOR FREE and just play nice.
Oh no!! Blueberry is my favorite “baking” fruit. While there are fruits I like more as-is, it’s tough to beat blueberry versatility. Blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, blueberry bagels, blueberry cornbread, blueberry coffee cake, blueberry buckle…I think the closest you can get may be blackberries.
@TheMillennialGardener Stop...you are making me crazy for all those delish blueberry food I used to love to make! I loved a good large blueberry muffin, scone, or coffee cake with me tea!😋
@@valoriegriego5212 I think you can get close with blackberries with a lot of those things. I think blackberry buckle, blackberry muffins and blackberry coffee cake would be pretty close.
You’ll want to prune off any dead growth and inward facing growth. Other than that, it is just keeping the bush symmetrical and managing size. My bushes aren’t large enough to require any pruning other than dead growth and inward growth yet.
Polysaccharide content of liquid kelp has been said to increase cold tolerance, pertaining to flower blossoms and fruit yield. Naturally produced taurine seems to also be essential for plants and plants for humans, well, optimally at least.
Hi, How do you maintain an acidic ph for your blueberries when having them inground? Your blueberry bushes look healthy and they are thriving. Thanks in advance.
Hey bud, I've got kind of an off-topic question, I got a mulberry tree last year, and this year like a month or so ago my mulberrry had leaves, and some fruits coming in, and it hit a like cold night like 20s and it dropped all its leaves/mulberrys that were coming in, is it going to re-grow all the leaves/fruits? or is it like dead, cause I had ordered a new one that came in at like the same time the leaves died back, and it's already grown like 4 foot this season in 2 months haha. and on topic my blueberries are a little green with some blue tinge coming through now - in the same grow zone as you. Thanks!
IN PORTLAND OREGON I HAD 3 DIFFERENT KINDS. ONE THE PRODUCED EARLY, THEN MID SEASON AND ONE LATE. I WOULD LOVE TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR HERE IN TEXAS. IM IN ZONE 8a. ANY HELP WOULD BE A GOD SEND. SO FAR I CANT GROW THEM HERE. EVEN IF I TRY SOME SHADE CLOTH (WHICH HELPS) I’M HAVING A DEVIL OF A TIME GETTING THEM GOING. HELP PLEASE?
After what age or planting do they fruit max? Regular pruning, cros pollination by planting multiple blueberrys and keeping soil accidic are main points to focus on imo.
That depends on many factors. I bought my blueberries from Bottoms Nursery, and their bushes were gigantic. They fruited the same year I planted them. Most blueberries will fruit within 1 year from planting provided you got yourself nice bushes.
Check out what John Kempf, of Advancing Eco Agriculture, says about how to increase your Blueberry yields year over year. I was looking at the number of berries per plant. Ouch. I'm in Canada, I've no idea what is a normal yield to Southern High Bush or Rabbiteye Bushes. It looked a bit light compared to what I grow.
What is the minimum temperature for them to survive the winter? at my climate we have sometimes -15 Celsius for a week. Even with the climate changes I think its not possible for me to have it outside. Im thinking seriously to plant in a Pot I don't know what will happen :) also I heard now from you that I need 2 plants at least to polinate. Thanks.
I took some cuttings from Rabbiteyes and they successfully took but after a year in a pot I have one central 'trunk' as it were with quite a few canes branching up from the one central point. There are no other canes coming up from the crown. Should I remove all but three or so of the current canes and cut those back by half? Will this force the bush to push new canes from the roots under the soil and thus widen the crown?
Every time I buy blueberries grown in Mexico, Florida or California they don't taste all that great. The northern varieties grown in colder areas taste bettert. Blueberries now sourced from Peru are pretty good. Ditto for Chile.
Are they the same type? If they are not the same type (highbush, rabbiteye, etc.) they will flower at different times and are not compatible. You need to make sure you are pairing the same types of blueberries together. If they are the same type, one bush may simply be older than the other.
How to protect blueberries from birds. Behind you is a shelter that looks like it used metal t post and PVC or some plastic to makes hoops. Appreciate if you would provide how to build this shelter.
Is rabbit eye and low bush the same thing? Becuz I have a high bush and a low bush and they are producing well. Dunno if it’s cross pollination or what.
I have found that blueberries are easy to grow when you give them the right conditions, and one of them is an acidic soil. You have to check it and amend it to get it to where berries will be happy and thrive.
@@TheMillennialGardener I first noticed this with the strawberries The strawberry bed is in full sun. Strawberries started appearing in a bed that begins receiving shade around 3:00 p.m. The plants actually looked healthier and larger. The following year the full sun bed ripened as always in June, the other bed in July. The asparagus in the bed with less sun emerges one month later. The full sun asparagus bed is already two feet tall. I've noticed the same with raspberries. I have a peach tree in full sun and another had sun until 2:00 p.m. The full sun fruit tree would ripen a month earlier. I have another peach tree which is not getting enough sun and doesn't ripen until I am up against frost, freeze in October in zone 5a.
I go to my local craft / fabric store and just buy tulle ( fine netting for costumes or think bridal veils ) by the yard and use that to cover my blueberry bushes , strawberries or use it as row cover for vegetables susceptible to pests .
They’re not great unless you can get them local and in season. I grew up just outside of Hammonton, NJ, which is “the blueberry capital of the world.” Farms were everywhere and are absolutely gigantic.
Who pee'd in your cornflakes? Go yell at them, you miserable thing. I watch a lot of videos as my hubby has control of the TV at night. And I believe your comment is the meanest, dumb comment I have ever seen. He is not pushing hard with the brush. Yes, I love dogs, and I don't want them mistreated.
If you enjoyed this video, please “Like” and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching ☺️TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 Intro To Growing Blueberries
0:47 Highbush VS Rabbiteye Blueberries
3:37 The Common Blueberry Problem
4:51 My Blueberry Growing Strategy
7:41 Protecting Blueberries From Birds
8:13 How To Double Your Blueberry Season
10:16 Adventures With Dale
Do you grow olives?
SO I WAS TO HAVE PLANTED THESE BUSHES, LAST YEAR TO GET A CROP THIS YEAR?
I use a soccer goal frames to net my berries that are next to my house. I got one for free and it worked so well I bought another one. You can slide it around and even stand under it and add any kind of netting or fabric to keep pest and weather out 😊
last year i added the bushel and berry collection to my garden. I have berry plants hanging off everywhere. these varieties seem to grow and produce very well in small pots as they were designed and you can hang them anywhere off your garden or the house. when you are limited on space something like this is amazing. it can be hard to find a big enough hanging planter for a permanent home but i use 14 inch and i plan to root prune every few years as needed. when you have big wooden posts in your garden like you do they are perfect for hanging off that utilizing more vertical space and for people with deer issues you can just hang them to high for the deer.
In central GA, zone 8a, I planted two pineapple guava bushes. Originally they come from south America. They are doing great! No bugs at all, no frost damage, grows like a nice bush or you can train it like a miniature tree. The only down side is it takes 5 or more years to begin bearing tasty pineapple guavas, and if you want, the flowers are like cotton candy to eat. I have one over grown bush needing pruning. I am thinking this fall of buying bulk nursery pots, then propagate the pruned branches into new bushes to sell next late spring. If this is successful, I plan to go to Smiley's flea market in south Macon to sell them in nice planters so I can get more gardening equipment. This is a fantastic bush!
The way for me to (more than) double my harvest is to pick them at the first blush of color and let them ripen indoors. If I let them ripen on the bush, the birds will get EVERY. LAST. BERRY. I can hear mockingbirds out there right now as I write this. I have tried netting and various completely useless scare methods, but nothing works like getting the berries while I can.
Oh my gosh. My son brought me a Meyer lemon for mother's day! I'm so excited!!
Excellent! I love mine. It is a beast of a bush. The production is crazy.
Great information! I cringed when you "picked" those berries though. In order to obtain the sweetest, most ripe berries you tickle them. The ones that fall into your hand are at the perfectly ripened stage and will be the sweetest. If you have to pull it from the bush, it's not fully ripe - even though it appears perfectly blue.
We have great conditions for blueberries here in NH and my kids love them. You just convinced me to put them on the list for next year.
A friend gave me a bunch of starts from her blueberry bushes. She has a number of different kinds but no idea which varieties! I can't wait for them to grow to a size where they will start producing! My neighbor across the street has two huge bushes that are over 20 years old. They get buckets and buckets from them! Thank you for all of your tips! I'll know which kinds of blueberries to fill in with in the future!
One of my favorite plants. My link lemonade is swelling up just now, started picking a few this morning. Others are done for the season and others are still coming along. Couldn't agree with this video more.
Great video! Love blueberries ❤I pulled out decorative bushes last fall and put in blueberries 🫐 They are beautiful shrubs & I get to enjoy the harvest 😋
Great timing. Im getting a blueberry bush today. I will be putting it in a container, so this was a great video for me to see. Thanks.
Thank you so much for this video. You always teach me something new. I recently got a second blueberry plant and didn't realize that it wasn't a southern high bush like my first plant. Now I know I'm going to have to get another one so I can get a bountiful harvest on it when it finally flowers.
I've tried the same thing in Zone 8a Maryland. Like you, I've seen more winter damage on the Rabbiteye types, even in mild winters. The other approach is to have a variety of Northern Highbush--Reka, Bluecrop, Liberty, Ellliott will give you a long season, as well.
Oh noooo…. I live in Maryland and just bought a Rabbiteye; what do you put in your pot in the summer and come winter ?
@@blessisrael6455 The Rabbiteye may work for you. I just have a little more confidence in the Northern Highbush, as they are the types that most of the local farms grow. I talked to one garden center owner who said that we are in a weird zone where we can grow all types, though we're not perfect for any of them. The most important thing I've learned from the whole experience is that you need to get the soil Ph correct--4.5-5. True Vine Ranch, a mail order nursery in Kansas (yes, Kansas!) that specializes in blueberries recommends planting them in 100 percent peat, though I don't think that is entirely necessary as Maryland soils tend to be more acidic than their limestone soils. You can use soil sulphur, as well, though it will take at least half a season to kick in. If I had to plant them all over, I think I would have a plot of Northern Highbush with Reka, Bluecrop, Chandler, Liberty, and Arden/Last Call/Elliott. In the same plot, I would have Sweetheart, a Northern/Southern Highbush hybrid. Then, for fun, I would try a few Rabbiteye and Southern Highbush varieties. O'Neal, a Southern Highbush, has done well for me, practically neglected at the edge of a forest.
@@capeflatterytrail I bought one pink lemonade (it’s all they had left at Lowe’s) it was the last one, most the leaves fell off like it was dying; needless to say, buying my first tree I learned an important lesson: never buy a plant/tree on impulse w/o researching first; I’m on the fence on blueberry trees, it’s one high maintenance tree;
If it was a couple yrs ago, I’d invest more time and $ but I’d rather invest in a tree I know will survive for several years when things get much worse…
a tree I know will survive in a situation where I know I wouldn’t have any $…. very low sustenance;
I first planted it in %100 peat moss then took it out and replanted it with %20 coco coir (one video said it needs something with drainage and I don’t have any vermiculite) and also bone meal then poured a mixture of vinegar with water; I bought a PH stick for fermenting, it’s time to open it…….
@@blessisrael6455 I totally understand. I tried three times before finding a method that seems to work. I also should note that I grow mine in raised beds. That way I can control the conditions more and ensure good drainage. On a side note, blackberries are easy. All I have to do is stick them in the ground.
@@blessisrael6455 I totally understand. It took at least three tries to finally get blueberry bushes to produce. Once you get them established, though, they can be pretty low maintenance. Here is what finally worked for me. 1. I planted them in raised beds with mostly peat moss. 2. I feed them Hollytone every four weeks from March through August. 3. Reka was the variety that turned it all around for me. It's a newer one and the most reliable of the entire lot. One of the best investments I made for the rest of the garden was getting a soil test from University of Delaware. It gave me accurate Ph, along with soil type, composition, and nutrients. As for things that don't require much maintenance, do you like blackberries? I just put them in the ground, and they take off, maybe too much.
Just wanted to share about my blueberries, they are over 10 years old, we build a neted enclosure around them to protect from birds...its a bit crowded, 3 blueberries and one BlackBerry, they all like the acidic soil from the pines growing near by, we through pine cones, small sticks and pine needles for mulch in there, plus I prune them each winter.
I know one variety is ( Duke), the other I think Jersey something...i can't remember we live in PA
I have 1 Jearsy too. Great plant. Gives me a ton.
You can plant Early, Mid and Late Season Rabbiteye Varieties to extend your season even further.
The key will be growing varieties that flower at the same time to ensure cross pollinating. Proper flowering times are critical.
@@JDuzzle yup. Have 4 varieties at my place . 2 early, 2 mid. Too hot for late but I have wild blueberries by the hundreds of plants in my woods and they keep us busy on late anyway
@@bch5513 I dream of living somewhere where we have abundant wild blueberries. In Wisconsin, we have tons of wild blackcap raspberries and mulberries, and can sometimes find blackberries, but wild blueberries would be amazing.
I grow two rows of the rabbiteye line-up listed below and we have tons of fruit getting ready to ripen in their third year! Some plants have already reached 5' tall. I did a lot of homework (too much according to my wife lol) to find successive ripening varieties and have concluded that this is definitely an effective way to get the most out of your rabbiteye blueberry season.
• Centurion
• Ochlockonee
• Tiff Blue
• Powder Blue
• Alapaha
• Vernon
I have 29 varieties, for a grand total of 43 Blueberries. I have 4 little boys that love blueberries, and I also believe the economy is going to crash and a One world Government is coming so you can eatz the bugs own nothing and you will be happy.
Thank you very much for the video😊 here in the pnw with all the rain we get a lot of mummyberry people use a thick layer of sawdust after the berries fall to keep the little mummy berry shrooms from spreading their spores
My sister in law living in the mountains of north Georgia has wild blue berries growing there. So, you left out another category! I am thinking of getting some of those boshes to plant in central GA around oaks and pines as they are doing there. It will be a fun experiment.
I think we can only really grow various varieties of Highbush here in MA. We mostly grow Patriot, which is a Norther Highbush. It loves the super acidic soil (pH 5.0) with tons of oak leaves for mulch! About a month ago, I had fun vacuuming all of the dog fur off of the carpet going up my stairs! I get that pleasure two times a year.
You’re always posting just the right information I’m looking for. Thanks!
You’re welcome! Great to hear 😊
I am in Australia in a rural SE Queensland area and I have 6 bushes. 2 very tall bushes that don't produce a lot of berries yet. 2 medium height bushes that also don't produce an overabundance yet. And 2 very short bushes that give me a massive amount and bear for 7-8mths. All are 5yrs old now and came from NZ with localized names that I don't remember and never represented their parentage. They were supposed to be either lowbush or Southern highbush with one rabbiteye in the mix of 8 originally. Some have very small leaves while the remainder have quite large leaves well spaced along the branches. I prune them pretty hard and wonder if I am overpruning.
But I have no idea what they sent. I am just trying my best to get a good crop and last year they gave me fruit for 9mths. This year is colder so perhaps it will be less or conversely more but all at once. We are just going into winter now but the highbushes are flowering and setting lovely fruit.
I know when the fruit is at its peak for picking because it blows up to double its size overnight and is huge the next morning. Before then it will be a tiny bit acidic. But on the day it blows up, it is sweet and juicy.
They all live in massive pots of potting mix because my dirt, such as it is if you could call it soil, is stony and very alkaline. I fertilize them with Hydrangea and Azalea fertilizer mostly. They get about 2-3tsp fertilizer every month or 5wks with less in winter. They are healthy and insect resistant which is unusual for plants here. Most suffer from disease due to the alkalinity and thin soil which is less than 3-4inches. Under that is yellow schist or heavy clay gravel and white clay that is far too hard to dig in without a machine.
Ants eat everything here, no bacteria or fungus in this dirt! The bushes sit on pedestals in huge saucers of water. They require watering every day unless there has been 6-10ml. That's about 1/5 to 2/5 inch of rain which is not common here.
I always find it interesting how well others grow their berries and how hard it is for me but that I am still getting a reasonable crop. So I can't complain too much! 😊☺
I hear you about the birds. I get black birds and mocking birds along with Bluejays and Cardinals who will come strip my plants clean if I don't, so I also put "MESH" nets over them. I use the mesh like you do because standard bird netting kill birds and to me they should be illegal. The large squares seem to always kill birds so I have stopped using them. But just before the very last of my bushes I will uncover and let the birds get the last of them. I find some birds will pick many of your unripened berries as well long before they get ripe here in NE TX.
I'm actually in NE Texas as well, if you don't mind me asking, what varieties have you been growing, for how long, and how successful has it been? I'm starting year 2 with 3 pi k lemonade blueberry plants that I planted just because I thought the variety seemed interesting from my local tractor supply lol
Great video Anthony and thank you for sharing. Maybe you could do a side video in caring for them. We are heading into Winter from Autumn here in Melbourne Australia and l have noticed one variety of blueberries l have, has had all leaves change to a reddish colour. I am confident with my soil and fertilizer but there are mixed answers on the internet about this being normal for colder times to deficiency of certain minerals. I have 3 varieties but only 1 is affected by this change. All have the same soil and fertilizer. It would be nice to see a specialised video on blueberries. Best wishes Jason from Melbourne Australia.
Just out hangin' with my Rabbiteyes... Thank you for the highbush tip!
oh great news i will be growing blueberries when my 2 plants come in
Nice!
@@TheMillennialGardener sadly the blueberries won't fruit until 2nd or 3rd season cause they are small plants
our blueberries are juz still blooming, we harvest around June..our backyard are grown with lots of wild low bush, and on d side of our house are the high bush ones ...
Yay! 🫐 So far this year my blueberry bush has more berries than ever. Took them 2 years to get going. Hoping for some fresh delicious berries this year 😊
Most fruit trees hit their stride around year 3 or 4, and they start going into full production year 5. Things will pick up quickly.
smart content The Millennial Gardener thanks.
You’re welcome!
Thank you for the awesome video! We are new to growing blueberries so this was super helpful 😊
I definitely want to add some southern highbush varieties to my yard here in Harnett Co. I'm not really a content creator but I do have a video up from a day or 2 ago of my 3 rabbit eye bushes. They wont be ready until the middle or end of next month but the largest one is almost 10 ft tall and has 3 or 4 dozen shoots.
An unseasonable hard freeze with temps below 23F wiped out the blossoms on my blueberry plants, ending any chance of ghetting fruit until next year. Another tip for high production is to check soil PH. Blueberries like slightly acidic soil between 5.5-6.5 on the PH scale. Neutral PH soil, 6.8-7.0, will cause the plants to struggle, and die. Fortunately, I have Seascape Strawbeeries to get me through the spring and fall. (Alabama zone 7B, maybe 7A after last years freeze, 7F).
Great tip because I can do the same in GA. This is going into my second year so I hope mine yield as much as yours.
They are slow to get growing but eventually can get pretty large. They aren’t as vigorous, but they’re prolific. One bush can churn out a lot of berries.
I noticed. The birds that tear my blueberries apart are the cat birds. I net mine now, too, but I use netting that bees can get in and out because the birds will eat my blueberries even when not ripened. In fact they even attack the flowers on mine. It's aggravating even though I get it. They're sooo good. I got around a 5 gal bucket full from 5 plants. 2 are 20 years old! Still giving tons.
Blueberry is an addiction. I m just gonna collect all blueberry varieties that can fruit in my growing zone.
Great timing! Thanks for the info! East TN here!
thanks again for the tips and tricks!
Thank you MG! 😊👍
Thanks for the great information
You’re welcome!
About 5 years ago we planted 2 bushes, both different I believe, but no recollection of what they are. This year, for the first time, we have some blueberries growing on one of the bushes. They are blue, so I guess about ready to be picked. I also live in Brunswick County NC, so would it be a good bet that these are both southern high bush varieties? Thanks for the great videos!
Question: if I grow the Southern and the Rabbiteye how far apart do they need to be from each other?
Thank you so much for your channel, I come from a gardening family but still am learning new practices from you. I have started straw bales, thank you, as we have the bales every winter around the north side of our chicken coop. Thank you again.
🙏🙌❤️
That depends if you want to prune them. If you are going to be on point with pruning, you can plant them pretty closely. I think mine are about 4-5 feet apart. You can put them closer if you are going to prune them well, but if you want to be more neglectful, a 6ft spacing is probably ideal. Blueberries are slow growers, but they will eventually get fairy large.
Thank you Anthony. Great information. Do you have any advice on plum trees with large plums? Aw hi Dale. You are getting all the attention. Lol 😆 Love yall. ❤
Interesting…I have 8 rabbiteye plants and just got a Duke highbush this spring. Did not know it won’t cross pollinate with the rabbiteyes though, so I’m thinking I’ll get a Star like you have as it seems to be doing great. In zone 7b. Thanks for the info as always!
Hey there…thank you for all the informative videos you are kind enough to share with newbies like me! Im located a few hours south of you in the MB area. I just planted my Legacy Highbush today. What category is this type of blueberry in? Thank you, sir.
On the Southern Star with the lower chill hour requirement, what it bottom temps needed. Here in Central Texas I'm not sure we get cold enough, long enough.
Keep it up I love the gardening videos 👍 your awesome
We grow 6 varieties of southern High Bush blueberries in zone 6b/7a. we start harvesting approximately June 1 each year. Our last harvest is around the middle of August. We have selected our sub-varieties based on estimated budding dates so the early one's bud in late Feb to early March and the late one's bud in late March to mid-April.
I would be interested in seeing if I could get some Rabbit eyes to be harvestable from August 1 to September 1.
I have two high bush and two rabbit eye blueberry bushes, first year and have picked from one high bush and one rabbit eye. My pink lemonade hasn’t even fruited. I have mine in 25 gallon pots with strawberries at the base.
You should experiment with growing a sparkleberry tree and grafting your favorite southern highbush variety to it
In another video you mentioned getting fertilizer when it goes on sale in the fall. Can you advise on when it goes on sale, generally?
Ditto
Hi, I live in southeast Louisiana. My husband brought me 2 blueberry plants earlier this year. And before long I had flowers and then blueberries. I don't know what variety they are. They are kinda short. And I did get some blueberries and I didn't have a problem with the birds getting to them. One of the plants has little black spots on some of the leaves. What am I doing wrong? I am hoping that because they were still young I will get them healthy and have a better yield of blueberries next year. I just finished picking the last ones about a week ago and we are in July. Thanks so much for any help!
Denise
Yay! I did pretty good choosing my blueberries. I moved to NC from SoCal last year. In the fall, I replaced some unattractive rosebushes with 2 Tifblue and 2 Powderblue rabbiteyes. I also planted 2 O'Neal southern highbush because I thought they could cross pollinate the rabbiteyes. All 6 plants are loaded with berries but none ripe yet (I'm in the Piedmont, 7b). I could plant 2 more southern highbush but they'd be about 20' away from the O'Neals and more shaded. Is that close enough for pollination, and, if so, what variety would you recommend?
We also use a Furminator brush for our Chocolate Lab and it is fantastic! Can I spread the fur around my garden to deter pests? The squirrels are awful and the dog spends most of his time in the house (he's old) so they don't really perceive him as a threat unless he's actively chasing them.
After the cuttings develop a small root system, where should they be placed over winter? Can they be planted outside in the garden or should they be placed in a cool location inside like a basement to overwinter?
I'd like to grow blueberries in pots, any tutorial please? Btw this is in the Philippines. Thank you so much sir💚
I am from NC as well.
I also live in coastal N.C. and am trying to find a good source for bare root blueberry plants. Suggestions?
Thanks,
Zeke
Hi I know it doesn’t have to do with this video but what size pot are those self watering container’s that you have your citrus in. Thanks and loved the video
Double your blueberries by growing double the number of plants of a diff variety. There saved you mins
😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣
Thanks!
Lol
Ever consider not everyone has the room to do that? In my yard we have so much shade I only have one spot that gets enough consistent sunshine to grow blueberries so I am limited on how many I can plant. Others have the same or similar obstacles to deal with. He gave great advice and never said it was the only way to double your berry crop, just one way. So check your attitude at the door, be grateful for folks like this guy who gives us so much wonderful, helpful advice FOR FREE and just play nice.
Lots of good info. 👍 I wish I wasn't allergic to them. Love the flavor!😋
Oh no!! Blueberry is my favorite “baking” fruit. While there are fruits I like more as-is, it’s tough to beat blueberry versatility. Blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, blueberry bagels, blueberry cornbread, blueberry coffee cake, blueberry buckle…I think the closest you can get may be blackberries.
@TheMillennialGardener Stop...you are making me crazy for all those delish blueberry food I used to love to make! I loved a good large blueberry muffin, scone, or coffee cake with me tea!😋
@@valoriegriego5212 I think you can get close with blackberries with a lot of those things. I think blackberry buckle, blackberry muffins and blackberry coffee cake would be pretty close.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks!🙂
Déjame decirte que el sabor es diferente!
Do you have to trim blueberry bushes every year? And how do you do it?
You’ll want to prune off any dead growth and inward facing growth. Other than that, it is just keeping the bush symmetrical and managing size. My bushes aren’t large enough to require any pruning other than dead growth and inward growth yet.
Polysaccharide content of liquid kelp has been said to increase cold tolerance, pertaining to flower blossoms and fruit yield.
Naturally produced taurine seems to also be essential for plants and plants for humans, well, optimally at least.
Hi,
How do you maintain an acidic ph for your blueberries when having them inground? Your blueberry bushes look healthy and they are thriving.
Thanks in advance.
I fertilize with Holly Tone and use oak leaves and pine straw to mulch. The same company that makes Holly Tone also makes a soil acidifier.
Blueberry pancake time!
I’m not a pancake guy for the flour, but blueberry is the best if you ask me.
Hey bud, I've got kind of an off-topic question,
I got a mulberry tree last year, and this year like a month or so ago my mulberrry had leaves, and some fruits coming in, and it hit a like cold night like 20s and it dropped all its leaves/mulberrys that were coming in, is it going to re-grow all the leaves/fruits? or is it like dead, cause I had ordered a new one that came in at like the same time the leaves died back, and it's already grown like 4 foot this season in 2 months haha.
and on topic my blueberries are a little green with some blue tinge coming through now - in the same grow zone as you.
Thanks!
My mulberry did the same them got some crazy insect that bored it. Had to cut it down and burn it. Lucky that TY TY NURSERY has a one year warranty.
@@KB-2222 interesting I'll check it for a pest when I get home. Did it bore the stems or thru the root systems?
Some of mine flowered so early a late freeze messed them up some, so not as many berries this season.
IN PORTLAND OREGON I HAD 3 DIFFERENT KINDS. ONE THE PRODUCED EARLY, THEN MID SEASON AND ONE
LATE. I WOULD LOVE TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR HERE IN TEXAS. IM IN ZONE 8a. ANY HELP WOULD BE A GOD SEND. SO FAR I CANT GROW THEM HERE. EVEN IF I TRY SOME SHADE CLOTH (WHICH HELPS) I’M HAVING A DEVIL OF A TIME GETTING THEM GOING. HELP PLEASE?
After what age or planting do they fruit max? Regular pruning, cros pollination by planting multiple blueberrys and keeping soil accidic are main points to focus on imo.
That depends on many factors. I bought my blueberries from Bottoms Nursery, and their bushes were gigantic. They fruited the same year I planted them. Most blueberries will fruit within 1 year from planting provided you got yourself nice bushes.
@@TheMillennialGardener mine fruited the same year aswell. But they are still growing, there is probably a certain age of maturity.
Do you know what zone lowbush grow best in? I wonder if they will grow in Tennessee, zone 7.
How do you keep the rabbits from eating your bushes on your foundation? I have 12 plants and had to build a fence.
Great video my man
Thank you!
Check out what John Kempf, of Advancing Eco Agriculture, says about how to increase your Blueberry yields year over year.
I was looking at the number of berries per plant. Ouch. I'm in Canada, I've no idea what is a normal yield to Southern High Bush or Rabbiteye Bushes. It looked a bit light compared to what I grow.
What is the minimum temperature for them to survive the winter? at my climate we have sometimes -15 Celsius for a week. Even with the climate changes I think its not possible for me to have it outside. Im thinking seriously to plant in a Pot I don't know what will happen :) also I heard now from you that I need 2 plants at least to polinate. Thanks.
Great video ❤
Nice information dear 👍 😊
I took some cuttings from Rabbiteyes and they successfully took but after a year in a pot I have one central 'trunk' as it were with quite a few canes branching up from the one central point. There are no other canes coming up from the crown. Should I remove all but three or so of the current canes and cut those back by half? Will this force the bush to push new canes from the roots under the soil and thus widen the crown?
Every time I buy blueberries grown in Mexico, Florida or California they don't taste all that great. The northern varieties grown in colder areas taste bettert. Blueberries now sourced from Peru are pretty good. Ditto for Chile.
Dale, Dale, Dale
Where I'm at a lot of the bushes haven't even set fruit
Hello, how are you? I bought 2 blueberry trees at Home Depot, one is full of flowers but the other is not, is it something bad or what is it due to?
Are they the same type? If they are not the same type (highbush, rabbiteye, etc.) they will flower at different times and are not compatible. You need to make sure you are pairing the same types of blueberries together. If they are the same type, one bush may simply be older than the other.
How to protect blueberries from birds. Behind you is a shelter that looks like it used metal t post and
PVC or some plastic to makes hoops. Appreciate if you would provide how to build this shelter.
What about the brand Prunes blueberry bushes ?
How do I make sure I get healthy bushes?
So for the longest season of fruit, what varieties should I have? Im Zone 9 so it will be Rabbiteye.
I just came for the adventures of Dale
Is it ok to put two young blueberry plants in the same pot?25 litre pot thanks
Idk but I’m so down for a 1000 hours of chill time too
Is rabbit eye and low bush the same thing? Becuz I have a high bush and a low bush and they are producing well. Dunno if it’s cross pollination or what.
No. Low bush are small and super cold hardy. Rabbiteye are their own thing.
@@TheMillennialGardener thank you.
Ive killed every blueberry bush and strawberry plant ive ever attempted to grow. Same story with raspberries and blackberries.
I have found that blueberries are easy to grow when you give them the right conditions, and one of them is an acidic soil. You have to check it and amend it to get it to where berries will be happy and thrive.
Plant the same varieties in another spot that doesn't get direct sun all day and they will ripen later than the plants in full sun
Blueberries require 6+ hours of sun. They will not fruit well in part shade.
@@TheMillennialGardener plants receiving just 6- 7 hours of sun will ripen later than those in the sun all day.
@@TheMillennialGardener I first noticed this with the strawberries The strawberry bed is in full sun. Strawberries started appearing in a bed that begins receiving shade around 3:00 p.m. The plants actually looked healthier and larger. The following year the full sun bed ripened as always in June, the other bed in July. The asparagus in the bed with less sun emerges one month later. The full sun asparagus bed is already two feet tall. I've noticed the same with raspberries. I have a peach tree in full sun and another had sun until 2:00 p.m. The full sun fruit tree would ripen a month earlier. I have another peach tree which is not getting enough sun and doesn't ripen until I am up against frost, freeze in October in zone 5a.
Can you link to the pest netting?
I go to my local craft / fabric store and just buy tulle ( fine netting for costumes or think bridal veils ) by the yard and use that to cover my blueberry bushes , strawberries or use it as row cover for vegetables susceptible to pests .
I have 6 bushes. None of them ever bloomed. I am in Chapel hill, NC. ):
How did you amend your soul to grow the blueberry bushes directly in the ground?
Are They planted on a south facing wall?
Mine are east facing. My afternoon sun in the south is brutal. Morning sun is great for them in my area.
Are these cultivars non gmo? Are there certified rabbits heirlooms?
🧡
Thanks for watching!
Basically what he said is Azaleas are a waste.😂😂😂
Azalea governing body in Wilmington: How dare he!
If I can’t eat it, I don’t want it 😆 Unless it’s a palm tree.
@@TheMillennialGardener we had palm fruit once before the big freeze with snow a few years ago. It was like a tart plum but better.
The grocery store blueberries seem yo be tasteless and have a weird texture.
They’re not great unless you can get them local and in season. I grew up just outside of Hammonton, NJ, which is “the blueberry capital of the world.” Farms were everywhere and are absolutely gigantic.
Then he composts Dales fur.
Please brush your own arm with the pressure you are using on your dog with that wire brush and see if it hurts.
Who pee'd in your cornflakes? Go yell at them, you miserable thing.
I watch a lot of videos as my hubby has control of the TV at night. And I believe your comment is the meanest, dumb comment I have ever seen.
He is not pushing hard with the brush.
Yes, I love dogs, and I don't want them mistreated.
If you can keep the deer , birds and squirrels away
Thank you for this. 🫐
You’re welcome!
What about the hybrid varieties? I have a two hybrids (top hat and jelly bean variety) will they cross pollinate to prduce more blueberries?