Containers and blue berries

[Anny]

I want to grow some blue berries, but like I said earlier I don't have alot of sun around my yard. But my loving boyfriend pointed something wonderful out to me yesterday. We get a LOT of sun on the drive way ALL day. So my new plan is to grow some of the things I couldn't fit into my raised bed garden in containers!

I already planted some strawberries. And I read some where that you can easily grow blue berries in containers as well. Has anyone done this? What types of blue berries do best in containers. Do I need to buy dwarf blue berries? Do blue berries in containers need to be pruned?

In the winter (in zone 5, Michigan) the blue berries can stay out side right?

Thank you!

What else can I grow in containers? :-D

 

[patandchickens]

In the winter (in zone 5, Michigan) the blue berries can stay out side right?

I would tend to doubt it. You are already near the edge of blueberries' hardiness range (if you mean the highbush 'cultivated' blueberry types). The roots will get WAY WAY colder in containers than they would if growing in the ground, unless you dig a hole and bury the container up to its ground level in the soil each fall. They may also need some wind protection if by any chance your driveway is real windswept.

Is there a reason not to just dig a *bed* for them along the driveway? You will have to water them of course, but not as much as if they were in containers, and they will be hardier growing in the ground.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Anny]

I can not plant them next to the drive way cus my own soil isn't very acidic and next to the drive way doesn't get as much sun and the part that does...is where my raised bed garden is.



I've seen wild blue berries growing in Canada, it gets colder there then here. Don't they just go dormant in the winter?

Maybe I will not be able to grow blue berries after all.

 

[Tomatoes&Things]

Sure you can plant blueberries in containers. I would not reccomend the standard type but the dwarf plants make great container plants. In fact that's why I think they came up with the dwarf type. I would probably reccomend the large larger containers if you want to get the most out of yours plant(s). But other than that it shoud be no problem growing them in containers.

 

[Anny]

Thanks Tomatoes&Things

What type of blue berries have you grown? Which would you recommend? Will I need to prune them yearly?

Thank you so much

 

[patandchickens]

I am in Canada , and I assure you that highbush blueberries are not hardy in most of the country (only the very warmest parts). For instance, I'm an hour north of Toronto and mine are struggling, with a lot of die-off every winter (despite snow, and wind-protection).

(e.t.a. - going dormant during winter is not a factor. THe things that affect hardiness are a) does the air get so cold it kills the branches, and b) does the ground get so cold the roots die. A reliable blanket of insulating snow all winter will help a good deal, at least for parts of the plants that remain underneath it, but at some point the ground just gets too cold nonetheless).

(thus, plants are invariably less hardy in containers than they are in the ground.)

The wild blueberries you get up here are the lowbush type. Those are hardier, although I don't know how much of that is inherent to the plant and how much is just that they're much shorter and thus more likely to spend the winter entirely beneath the snow. Personally I think the berries are tastier; but they do not produce nearly as much per plant or per square foot of space.

You can amend the soil in a bed to be more acidic, same as you would do in a container. Blueberries growing in the ground would really be a MUCH safer bet in your zone. I am not understanding how you can have room for containers but not for a bed? Were you thinking of putting the containers *on* the driveway? I would worry a lot about them getting too hot over the summer.

You really need to find someone in your zone/climate to talk to, though... certainly blueberries can be grown in containers in milder climates but that is not necessarily relevant to you Have you tried talking to garden-center staff -- like, a REAL garden center that grows some of their own plants and has good advice, not a big box store type place? Or does Michigan have a Master Gardener program you could call?

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Anny]

The reason I have room for containers and not a bed, is that my cement drive way gets all the sun. I can't make a plant bed on the drive way, but I can put containers on the drive way. See all my wonderful sun is wasted of a drive way. And I can't just get rid of the drive way cus we do us it some times, but only 1/2 of it normally so the other 1/2 of nice sun is just sitting there waiting form e to put containers on it.

 

[patandchickens]

Containers on a driveway will get quite hot, which is quite stressful for plants...


Pat

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Plant them in containers. The nice thing about containers is that you can move them whenever you feel like it. You can put them in a garage, or other unheated building over the winter to protect them. If it gets too hot on the driveway, you can move them somewhere else on really hot days. I love plants in containers, because they are much easier to control. Oooopppps! I just admitted I'm a control freak.

 

[Tomatoes&Things]

I would go talk to someone local to see if you can grow them in your zone and if so then what type to plant. I'm sure there is a type for your zone, just make sure before you buy anything. If you find a type that will grow in your zone then I don't think it would be any problem growing them in containers on the driveway. I don't think they will get over heated.