Caring for a blueberry plant

I have 2 plants which are thriving on my balcony. I had 2 others which died. One was over watered and the roots rotted and the other dried out.
I have used phostrogen fertiliser from time to time but otherwise no special care.
My balcony faces north west and gets a lot of sun (when it shines) from early afternoon onwards.

Blueberries produce better berries when planted near another blueberry plant. We have two different varieties planted in pots which are prolific.
Ericaceous compost and keeping moist is a must. In the spring I feed them with liquid ericaceous food. They produce the fruit on the previous years growth.

I like the pretty flowers they produce. They have a very delicate fragrance.

Forgot the image!

How big do they get? I bought three in the first lockdown and put them in pots but they didn’t seem very happy so I replanted them in the garden but quite close together, maybe in a two foot diameter.

Should I lift and spread them out more?

I had some berries this year but only about 10 or 15 ripe ones each time.

I have had my three healthy blueberry bushes (in large pots) for quite a few years and they produce an abundance of fruit - more than ever this year. I do the same as J52, but in early Spring I scrape a couple of inches of compost off the top, then top dress with more ericaceous compost.

You will need at least 2 blueberry plants, preferably 3 as they come in male and female forms. They will grow happily each in it’s own pot but as they are acid lovers it is an absolute must to grow them completely in ericaceous compost. You can either top dress with ericaceous compost each year or put pine bark chippings on top of the soil.

We find the birds love the fruit so you may want to net them. As the berries start to ripen we move ours in to the poly tunnel away from the birds. Good crops for several years running.

I think they also take a couple of years to get going. Mine are in large 40 cms pots and are about a metre tall. Half a metre wide.
They can be pruned in the winter, taking out the dead wood and opening out the structure.
The birds do love them, so we fine net them. At the end of the season the stragglers are left for the birds, the bonus is that I now have 3 young plants courtesy of bird dropping!

Oh, we’ve got really acid soil so I’m surprised they’ve survived. Back to the pots then.

Thanks?

Oh no, they are acid livers.

Oh I don’t know what to do.

lovers?

My two are cropping well. Today's job is to pick the fruit before the birds do.
The pot on the right contains a variety called 'Augusta' which is supposed to ripen in August. Other varieties include June and Julia. You can work out when they should ripen.
I plan to get a couple more as I eat a lot of blueberries.

No problem then Peasblossom.

They freeze really well too. In the winter just push a few into hot porridge and they thaw out.

We actually got about a dozen blueberries this year, before the birds got to them. Last year they were cleaned out in about 2 hours by birds, there one minute, gone the next. So this year as soon as we saw some ripe we grabbed them but never got anymore.

fiorentina51 I've never noticed the flowers are scented - I'll have to remember to have a sniff next year.

You will need to use ericaceous potting compost, feed and rainwater only. I hope you get lots of berries.

We did everything right except we only had one bush as I'd never heard about needing two or three.

After 2 years it had neither died nor grown, the roots were still the same so DH composted it.
Perhaps it needed a friend.

We tried really hard with a couple of bushes we were given by a well-meaning relative even though we have chalky soil.
They survived for a few years in pots with ericaceous compost and a strict 'rain water only' watering regime, along with regular feeding. The birds and the g'children competed for the berries - had to be up early as a few ripened each day.

They don’t like being moved ! So leave them be to settle in and use an ericaceous feed too

I’ve 3 big plants in tubs. Echo what’s been said and I also water mine with rain water, as I read that was best.