I have four young blueberry bushes that were planted last fall. I have followed all of the planting instructions and the bushes are very healthy. My question is.....Do I remove the flower buds that have formed? Someone said I should for their first year of blooming. My second question is should one plant a blueberry bush in a pot and if so how large should the pot be? (The plant is small and young)
"They" do say that one should remove the blossoms the first year to help the plants get established better instead of putting their energy into fruit production. I have never done that, and have 300+ bushes and have never had any subsequent growth or establishment issues. I was too impatient to wait two years, especially when the blueberries were loaded with flowers. Perhaps give it enough nutrients for both establishment and fruit production Regarding blueberries in pots, will it survive, yes, but why?
What type of nutrient is best for blueberry plants and when should one apply it? My other question regarding the potting up of a bush in a pot was a question from a friend who has limited space but is interested in maintaining a bush. Would the amount and type of nutrient be different? I would presume that one would need to be more dilegent about watering? Thank you in advance for your help.
Blueberries are very sensitive to chloride based fertilizers as are most soil organisms. I recommend using a chloride free blueberry specific fertilizer with micronutrients. http://www.store.tlhort.com/p-10435-15811brpremium-programmed-release-berry-blend.aspx The time to fertilize is now, and once again mid May. I'm sure you could do it totally organically as well, but you would not likely have as good results.
I also have new blueberries which flowered very nicely, and I saw the first post a few days ago and got upset as I would absolutely hate to rip off the developing berries! Fertilizing seems like a much better option, even though I'd love to stay organic. Thank you for the advice.
