Blueberry help!

[KatherineB]

I am a little early as we still have 3+ feet of snow on the ground, but just wanted to pick the brains of some blueberry experts.
You were put in charge of taking care of a patch of high-bush blueberries, variety unknown, and since they were planted about 2 years ago, they do not seem to have grown an inch. Their leaves and some stems turn red halfway through summer. What would be your course of action for this year to save these guys?
Oh, and by the way, this is an organic farm.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Have you had the soil analyzed? Your county extension agent should be able to help you with that. They are either in the phone book under county government or you can fine the number online.

What kind of soil are they planted in, natural, potted, or something else?

Blueberries need a very low pH, if memory serves me right somewhere around 5 to 5.2. That's petty acidic. I don't know if sulfur is considered organic or not, but I use sulfur to lower my pH. But don't start throwing things at it until you know what you have. A soils analysis would be real good.

Blueberries have a shallow root system. If the ground does not drain but stays wet, the roots can rot. If the ground near the surface dries out, since they don't have a tap root, they can die. I carry a lot of water to mine every summer. And I mulch them heavily.

 

[buckabucka]

I will be interested to see if my blueberries start growing. At first I thought it was too cold here, but mine were really overrun with weeds.
We started a new plot in our sandy field and tested the soil. We did need to add sulfur, and have been heavily mulching also. The plants did produce berries last year (a big improvement already), and I'll have to wait and see if the growth takes off.

 

[baymule]

Very good advice, don't have blueberries, but want to plant some.

 

[thistlebloom]

I agree with what Ridgerunner said. get your soil tested to start with, you can inform whoever does the testing that you are growing blueberries and they can give you a more focused report on what your soil may need for them.

Blueberries are tough for a lot of us because of where in the country we are. I finally put mine in barrels so I could control the pH of my soil better.

Blueberries do turn red with the fall season, so that may explain your description of the leaves and stems. If they are water stressed they would start turning earlier in the season. But it also could be a nutrient or ph issue,

 

[bobm]

Many blueberrie varieties turn red to crimson red or orange in the late summer/ fall and some varieties' stems and leaves turn yellow so they have a dual purpose use in the city garden not only as a berry crop but also as an ornamental. Blueberries need an acidic soil and a moist but well drained soil for producing a large crop. Most blueberries only start to produce a decent crop after 3 or more years then produce heavy crops for many years as they grow for up to 80 years if well cared for. Google : "Fall Creek Nursery " in Oregon, they are a wholesale blueberry nursery that ships plants all over the world and their information on line is the best, most complete and most informative guide to raising blueberries that I can find.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

this should help you since it is from our local UNH. http://extension.unh.edu/resources/tag/blueberry