How to plant blueberries

[Rose bloom]

My grandpa wants to plant blueberries, but would the ones that have been chilled still germinate? If they can, how do you make them germinate, survive,flower, and bear fruit. Also, how long does it take to fruit! My grandpa tried planting dried blueberries. I told him they wouldn't germinate but he did it anyway. ( rolls eyes again )

[feldon30]

If you are seriously interested in growing blueberries, I would find a local nursery, or a reputable online website, and buy disease-free blueberry plants suitable for your climate. Different varieties of blueberry (there are over 100) have different growth habits (northern highbush, southern highbush, half-high, lowbush, and rabbiteye) grow in different parts of the US.

It could take five or more years to get fruit by starting with seeds from a store-bought blueberry, that is, if the variety thrives in your climate.

[Habanero]

Feldon nailed it.

You should really find a local nursery and talk to someone who knows what they're talking about so you can pick a plant that thrives in your area. I called around to 5 different nurseries before I got a guy who talked - at length - about blueberries, the varieties they had, and which ones to grow together. Also, the plants in the nurseries are already established and older, so they're much more hardy.

I also read that for the first 3 years of the blueberry's life, you have to prune the fruit off of it to encourage root growth. Heartbreaking though it may be, it benefits the plant in the long run.

The soil is tricky too, you want a lower pH (more acidic) than normal. So a pH tester is a must. Do what it takes to get that soil between 4.5 and 5.5. They also like peat moss. I saw a post either here or on another forum of someone who grew a blueberry plant out of a large bag of peat moss. It was funny.

If you're dead set on germinating, then someone else probably has way better advice, but here's what I would do if I was trying it: Find locally grown fruit, such as from a farmer's market (that way you know it's a plant that survives your area) and try sticking seeds from a fresh berry in moist dirt that's in the specified pH range. This is going to sound crazy but you can probably seal this little experiment in a bag and put it in a windowsill. The sealed bag will do the greenhouse thing and trap in moisture. My daughter's kindergarten class just did this with pumpkin seeds. Guess what I have growing in my backyard right now. :/

Anyway, good luck!

-Habs

[Rose bloom]

Thanks.