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Looking to make a Bush Border that can be neatly hedged or cut to isolate my Side yard....Figured if I'm going to grow about 20 bushes in a line....might as well be edible Blueberry bushes.Guys what's the best of the best flavored Blueberry varieties?
I don't know about California but out here in NC blueberries don't make a very full bush, they wouldn't block out much. They are pretty and well worth growing but I don't think they would work well as a screen. I grow all different varieties because each year the weather is different and one variety will perform better than the rest and each year it is a different variety. 'Oneal' is my favorite because it fruits early and for a long time and the flavor is great no matter how hot it gets.
Quote from: ClayMango on February 24, 2015, 03:21:47 PMLooking to make a Bush Border that can be neatly hedged or cut to isolate my Side yard....Figured if I'm going to grow about 20 bushes in a line....might as well be edible Blueberry bushes.Guys what's the best of the best flavored Blueberry varieties?Claymango,Sweet Crisp is reported to be the best tasting large berry and low chill. However Sunshine Blue does very well with higher PH water and less then optimal soil, it produces medium sized berries with good flavor. Emerald and Gem are also two very good low chill berries that would be close to Sweet Crisp in size and flavor.I grew Emerald and Sunshine blue. Emerald produced excellent size berries with good taste, however it was more finicky with the higher PH water and took a little extra care to make it happy. Btw, Emerald, Gem, and Sweet Crisp have a larger more upright growth habit. Sunshine blue is more compact and dwarf growth habit.
Clay, My opinion; Ditch the blueberry idea. Try something that will be more drought tolerant and happy planted in the ground and more appreciative of your hot summer sun! There are good threads to search for hedge / bush rows and I think you will be rewarded with happier plants and more fruit than in ground blueberries there.
Cocoplum maybe?
Quote from: nullzero on February 25, 2015, 03:53:00 PMCocoplum maybe?Nullz I'm really gunning for this Blue berry bush Border...my mind is set lol...my slope receives regualr watering in the Spring and Sumerr from irrigation, so I'm not worried about low yeilds. Not to mention a border of about 20 blueberry bushes should easily be enough to blend some smoothies and enjoy some fresh hand picked berrys...and that's factoring all 12 homes on my cul de sac raiding about half of the bushes fruit.Now can anyone break down the Rabbit Eye varieties and the Southern High Bush varieties and which is better?
Quote from: ClayMango on February 25, 2015, 04:54:13 PMQuote from: nullzero on February 25, 2015, 03:53:00 PMCocoplum maybe?Nullz I'm really gunning for this Blue berry bush Border...my mind is set lol...my slope receives regualr watering in the Spring and Sumerr from irrigation, so I'm not worried about low yeilds. Not to mention a border of about 20 blueberry bushes should easily be enough to blend some smoothies and enjoy some fresh hand picked berrys...and that's factoring all 12 homes on my cul de sac raiding about half of the bushes fruit.Now can anyone break down the Rabbit Eye varieties and the Southern High Bush varieties and which is better?You want berries dont even bother with the Rabbit Eye. You need low chill Southern High Bush. Anything with a recommend chill hours below 400. Sweet crisp is top notch if you can find one, Gem, and Jewel excellent which I said earlier. Sunshine blue is going to healthier with the irrigation high ph tap water. I would get all 4 and mix them in if you are looking for 20 plants. 5 of each if you could find them.The Sweet Crisp, Jewel, and Gem. May need to use some sulfur to lower the ph of the soil to make the plants happy. Here is a good read up on using sulfur for blueberries;http://blueberries.msu.edu/uploads/files/Lowering_Soil_pH_with_Sulfur.pdf
You would want to buy small tissue cultured plants. Potentially you may be able to fruit it using shade cloth and irrigation.
Thanks for the info, I didn't know that.Do you know where I can get Tissue cultured blueberry ?.
Quote from: EvilFruit on February 26, 2015, 12:46:22 PMThanks for the info, I didn't know that.Do you know where I can get Tissue cultured blueberry ?.Agristarts is one of the main nurseries that supplies TC plants. They don't sell directly, I think they just do wholesale orders to growers and nurseries. These nurseries I believe sell the TC plants from Agristarts;wellspring gardens TC blueberries: http://wellspringgardens.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=blueberryFlorida Hill TC blueberries ; http://www.floridahillnursery.com/blueberry-plants-vaccinium-c-34?zenid=q4i45s87qdkbs57mhtn5ujcfn7No idea if they ship international.
Clay,If you are you going to be irrigating with tap/sprinkler system water you might want to try an experimental bush first. Otherwise you maybe looking at death row.