Last year I decided to try and grow blueberries from berries that I bought at the grocery store. Many seedlings started from these berries and I went so far as to protect them from the winter. However, this summer it became apparent that what I was so lovingly caring for was not going to give me blueberries. I could not find any photos of really young blueberry plants so I waited for them to flower, the flowers were like miniature daisies that never fully opened, and when pollinated became small, fuzzy seed puff balls. Is it possible that the berries I bought were a hybrid and therefore what I got was the plant that the original blueberry was crossed with? Or perhaps they were genetically modified so that new plants could not be grown from them? Has anyone had a similar experience?
The seedlings that you sprouted were undoubtedly some weeds that came with the soil. Blueberry seeds need a certain amount of cold before they will sprout. They can be refrigerated for a while, but I'm not sure what duration is required. The easiest way is to leave them outside during the winter and let them sprout in the spring. It will take more than a year, possibly several, before you see any blossoms or fruit.
Thank you for your reply vitog. I believe that it is a distinct possibility that they are weeds. I planted the blueberries last fall, not expecting to see any plant life until after the winter. I read that blueberries need freezing temperatures (I'm not sure for how long either) and so I left them outside last winter on my balcony. There were sprouts before the winter, however, so I protected them from frost but still left them outside. This spring and summer it was only the weed like plant that grew, and lots of it. And while I suspected it might be a weed there was nothing else that has grown since and I think that last winter should have been enough cold for the seeds to germinate (I am by Burnaby mountain and it was very cold). I am going to try again, this time with organic blueberries.
