Blueberries in Whiskey Barrels

[aborland5280]

Does anyone here have experience growing blueberries? We are in zone 7B. For Mother’s Day I received two whiskey barrels and I would love it if I could put blueberries in them. I know blueberries need acidic soil - we have some soil acidifier already. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips on what variety would be best for my zone and containers.

TIA

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They sell container varieties now that stay smaller. So I would look for those at your local garden center.

I've been growing a few blueberries in big pots for a few years. They are doing okay.

You may want to add a bit of peat moss to the barrel soil to help add some acid. I fertilize them yearly in the spring with an acid fertilizer.

Here I'm zone 4 so I put my pots in a shed during winter. You probably don't need to.

 

[Sally PB]

Blueberries like acidic soil, pH of 4.5-5.5. I thought I had acidic soil, since we have a lot of oak trees. My blueberries only did so-so, and weren't very productive.

I checked the pH of the soil, and it was about 6.8. I started putting a soil acidifier on the soil, and the difference was AMAZING!

Check your soil pH. You might be surprised!

 

[rosemarythyme]

They sell container varieties now that stay smaller. So I would look for those at your local garden center.

x2. Nice thing too with container friendly varieties is a lot of them are self fertilizing so you don't need to keep a second variety nearby. My current choice is Peach Sorbet, it doesn't get very large and the fruit is medium sized and mild. I've also grown Jelly Bean but I don't care for the smaller, tart berries.