Blueberries?
- Thread starter Jayne
- Start date
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The Blueberry bush will grow well through the Summer, up until the fall/winter frosts.
In Tennessee, the fruit on the plants is usually gone by June and July, depending on the variety. I would guess the harvest would usually end a couple of weeks earlier in Georgia.
A single variety of Blueberries will often set fruit. But, for the most fruit production, another variety (of the same type) is needed for cross-pollination. In other words, if you have a Highbush blueberry plant, cross-pollinate with a different Highbush variety... if you have a Rabbiteye blueberry plant, cross-pollinate with a different Rabbiteye variety.
There are 3 main types of Blueberries that are used by commercial and garden growers... Northern Highbush, Rabbiteye, and Southern Highbush.
You mentioned Duke and Blueray; those are varieties of Northern Highbush blueberries. In much of the USA, Northern Highbush is typically the most available type.
Rabbiteye varieties tend to become more available in the mid-interior and southern states... and Southern Highbush varieties are usually grown in the deep south.
I love Blueberries !
I have never heard of "Little Giant" blueberries before today and before I responded to the question, I wanted to see what a search would bring. I read the commercial web site and it reminds me of what they say about scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't. Blueberries don't grow all that fast and the ones you buy from a nursery are often at least three years old. With that, you may get a handfull of berries the first year, but it is rcommended that you take the blooms off so you can concentrate the plant growth into the plant and not into fruit. I think blueberries are a great plant(s) for home growing and I like them very much. They do require a fair amount of care though as they are shallow-rooted and need lots of water. They like an acid soil but that can be helped with a sawdust mulch. I'm not sure if all blueberries need a different variety for pollenization, but I am sure that most of them do. I also know that varieties I am familiar with seem to be strangers back east. Not all of them though are unknown back there. The claims made on that web page seem outlandish compared to what I have seen in actual practice.
I took your link out as you just joined ....thanks for jumping in but....you seem to be the one that wrote the page with the link..
kinnika
New Member
I was also curious about these Blueberries and I agree totally with Randy. Don't waste your money. I am in zone 3 and I have 4 Blueberry plants that are doing quite well. For the life of me I can't remember what they are. I added 2 more last year and they both died through the winter. Randy I have never tried sawdust but I use pine needles instead and although it makes for prickley dirt to work in it works pretty well. I also give mine a couple of really good drinks of a fertilizer with lots of Chelated Iron throughout the growing season.
KallieLashay
New Member
My grandfather grew blueberries. And I swear I remember that they grew well into the fall/winter...is my memory correct?
farmerlon
New Member
The Blueberry bush will grow well through the Summer, up until the fall/winter frosts.
In Tennessee, the fruit on the plants is usually gone by June and July, depending on the variety. I would guess the harvest would usually end a couple of weeks earlier in Georgia.
farmerlon
New Member
A single variety of Blueberries will often set fruit. But, for the most fruit production, another variety (of the same type) is needed for cross-pollination. In other words, if you have a Highbush blueberry plant, cross-pollinate with a different Highbush variety... if you have a Rabbiteye blueberry plant, cross-pollinate with a different Rabbiteye variety.
I'm not even familiar with those terms, but will look into it. I don't have any blueberries myself, but have two farmer friends that raise them. The one I am going to today has three separate fields of blueberries and his son was telling me that one variety (Duke) is pretty much over for the season. That's the one I usually pick. I saw one field yesterday that they have not harvested yet, so it is obviously a different variety. Zach mentioned Blueray when I was talking with him on the phone and I think that is the field they have yet to harvest.
farmerlon
New Member
There are 3 main types of Blueberries that are used by commercial and garden growers... Northern Highbush, Rabbiteye, and Southern Highbush.
You mentioned Duke and Blueray; those are varieties of Northern Highbush blueberries. In much of the USA, Northern Highbush is typically the most available type.
Rabbiteye varieties tend to become more available in the mid-interior and southern states... and Southern Highbush varieties are usually grown in the deep south.
I love Blueberries !
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