This is my second try at Blueberry growing. I was successful in California in the San Franciso Bay Area and had 4 nice big blueberry plants which produced berries. I moved to Camp Verde, Arizona, and am trying to grow blueberry plants again. My first attempt last year resulted in 3 plants dying. This year, I rebought the live plants (about 1 1/2' tall) and planted them directly in straight peatmoss. They seem to be thriving and have bloomed. The leaves are a lovely green and the plants seem healthy. The one surviving plant from last year is coming back but I need to cut out the old wood and give the new growth a chance. That was planted in a combination of River Sand and mulch with a little horse pucky mixed in. It didn't do well, even when I fertilized it with Blueberry fertilizer, and like I said, the other three plants just dried up and died. Our temps here reach the mid 100's in the summer and low's in the winter to the low +20's. Are these temperature ranges a problem? Please advise if you know.
Re: Acidity Help -- Rasp, Blue, and Strawberries Blueberries like roses will do better with their roots damp, not soaked of course. Find an area that they will get shade to the lower areas of the plant this could be difficult in your climate. When picking blueberrys I have noticed the bushes on the outside of the patch exposed to the direct sun on there roots suffer and are stunted. Up here in the Fraser Valley farmers now with out the benifit of a peat soil are using sawdust or chips to keep the soil moist and this will keep the soil on the acid side. The best eating blueberries are grown in what where old peat bogs. This is hard to duplicate with out actually digging large chunks of peat out and planting the bushes in it. If you chose to use a chemical fertilizer don't go overboard a 6-6-6 is good enough applyed when the bush needs it in the spring.
