Planting bare root blueberry bushes

[Cosmo spring garden]

I ordered 10 from a nursery in tennessee. I have never planted bare root plants. I'm in zone 7 and I need to plant them ASAP. They arrived today and I plan to plant them tomorrow. Does anyone have any advice for me? They look pretty healthy (for a dormant plant I guess lol). I called the customer service and she said I can plant them as long as the ground isn't frozen. I checked the ground temp where they will be planted and its 40 degrees.

 

[thistlebloom]

You're going to love those bushes, and with 10 you will eventually have them abundantly! Did you get several varieties?
Go ahead and get them in the ground now. They still have plenty of opportunity to establish roots this fall. I don't know if your ground actually freezes hard and solid in zone 7. Make sure you water them in. BB's have a shallow netted root system so you don't want them going into winter dry. Mulch over the root systems once planted.
Enjoy them, they are one of my favorite fruits to grow.

 

[flowerbug]

i hope you have the soil prepped already? they will do best in a well drained acidic location with plenty of organic material worked in the soil and mulched on top. otherwise good to go. just make sure they don't dry out (freeze dry) if it doesn't get enough rain/snow cover.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Acidic soil and drainage and sun are the holy trinity. And to be sure, I am talking 5pH and lower where the phosphorous is more available than 5.5-6pH. Mine have measured 4pH and do very well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Zone 7B. You are just a tad warmer than I was in northwest Arkansas. My blueberries did great every year, I could count on them but they took care.

I got my pH down to about 5.0 to 5.2. I put some sulfur in the mix when I prepared the soil for them, got it tested after it set up, then had to add more. It took a while to get it right. I sprinkled more sulfur on top of the soil after they were planted to get it down.

That shallow root system has two curses. If the area doesn't drain they can drown. If they are in a low spot or heavy clay they could have issues. But they don't have a tap root to go down and find moisture. If it gets dry they can die that way. Like trees they need a lot of watering the first year they are set out, but that watering needs to continues forever.

Mulching helps a lot with that. I used sawdust from untreated wood or wood chips. Once they get going they grow thick enough to keep most weeds down but I was constantly pulling Bermuda grass out of them. Lots of mulch made that easier.

I only had three. When I planted mine I amended the soil with a lot of compost and peat moss. A circle high in organics about 3' to 3-1/2' diameter.

You really don't want bare root plants to dry out. They will probably come wrapped in wet newspaper or something like that. If you can't plant them immediately you can bed them in. Dig a trench and layer them in sort of laying down and cover the roots until you plant them.

Something has come up, it's something good not bad, but I have to stop. Good luck.

 

[seedcorn]

So what nursery did u use?

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Peat moss and then amendments in the spring to keep the pH down.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

drew

So what nursery did u use?

Tennessee wholesale nursery.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Peat moss and then amendments in the spring to keep the pH down.

This is what I did. I mixed in peat moss with the soil and planted them. And mulched then with leaves. Fingers crossed they survive!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

You're going to love those bushes, and with 10 you will eventually have them abundantly! Did you get several varieties?
Go ahead and get them in the ground now. They still have plenty of opportunity to establish roots this fall. I don't know if your ground actually freezes hard and solid in zone 7. Make sure you water them in. BB's have a shallow netted root system so you don't want them going into winter dry. Mulch over the root systems once planted.
Enjoy them, they are one of my favorite fruits to grow.

They are the same variety. Next year I'll add another variety. I'm excited! I love blueberries too. The ground freezes if it's not mulched. Found that out today.