RocketGunner
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Location: Saint Robert, Missouri

Blueberry Bush troubles

I have five Top Hat blueberry plants all in separate pots. (very large pots). Two plants are ones I purchased last year. Three are new I purchased this spring. The three I purchased this spring are doing great with new growth, and leaves. but they are now showing little brown spots on some of the leaves. The two from last years are not showing as much or very little new growth. I do keep the weeds out of the pots. I water them every other watering with a fertilizer for acid loving plants. I have not yet put the news paper or mulch around them as I have read on here.
How useful are ground egg shells to add calcium? Or coffee grounds. I use the eggshells with my tomatoes and have had great success. I have not tried the coffee grounds yet but have see on TV and read they work great for raising the acid levels in the soil.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

No calcium. Blueberries like a very low pH. The will tolerate a pH of 3, but are happy at pH 4.5. Plant it in peat moss which has a pH of about 5 and either perilite or vermiculite. Blueberries like their roots to stay moist and they have a shallow root system so mulching will help. They do not like wet feet though, so the pot should drain well. The acidic fertilizer will help. The spots sound fungal. Blueberries get that, and there are many kinds of fungal disease it is prone to. Follow the link and try to find the one that looks closest to what you have. Most of the fungal diseases will cause spotting of some kind.

https://www.extension.org/pages/29377/bl ... 20Diseases

tomc
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Location: SE-OH USA Zone 6-A

Read up on how to add sulfer or Mir-Acid to your blueberry soil.

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Francesco Delvillani
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I use pine needles to acidify the soil....it's necessary for this

CharlieBear
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If it is only a couple of leaves you could carefully remove them. I have done this many times in the past. Forget the coffee grounds in pots, sulfur, pine needles, some use saw dust. Coffee grounds are best put in the compost pile. They mate down and don't lower the ph as much as you might think. I am assuming that you watered them enough when it was hot and take them into a sheltered place over the winter. The trouble with fungal diseases, is by the time you see them except by removing the first few leaves that exhibit, they are hard to control. Usually they are prevented. It is best to mulch blueberries fresh every spring and then water carefully to lessen back splash from the soil. Pick up and destroy all of the leaves every year when they fall, so it isn't reintroduced into the soil. With the older plants it could be both the ph and lack of nutrients, but it is too late to apply any fertilizer this year. If you choose to use a very small amount of fertilizer formulated for acid loving plants like rhodies, blues etc in the spring and again in early-mid summer and I mean a very small amount. I would start with sulfur or Mir-acid, but don't over do it, put a little on every other month during the growing season.

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ElizabethB
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Location: Lafayette, LA

Hi RocketGunner,

Warm welcome to the forum.

You said your pots are large - how large?

What soil did you use?

I would not attempt to adjust the Ph without knowing what the existing Ph is. Take a slice of soil the depth of a hand trowel and 1" thick from each pot. Mix the samples together in a bucket. Put a cup of soil in a zip lock and bring it to your county extension office for a Ph test.

It is difficult to adjust the Ph in a container without knowing your starting point. Would you trust a physician who prescribed medication without a diagnosis? Same thing,

In the mean time keep you plants slightly moist - not soggy. Remove the affected leaves and throw them away. Don't leave affected leaves on the soil.

Good luck

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Francesco Delvillani
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In pot I think it's not a big problem....you can purchase soil for acidophilic, normally it has a correct pH...



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