Blueberry Bushes

[banana123]

So this very nice gentleman is trying to sell me some blueberry bushes - $8 a pot essentially and they are 3 years old. They should give me around 5lbs of fruit each. Here are the varieties he is offering me: New Hanover, Legacy, Onslow and Columbus. Has anyone had any experience with these varieties? How will they do in 7b, NC do you think?

[JONA]

Hi banana,
I can't comment from this side of the pond on your varieties ...but Blueberies do require extremely low PH soil. Below 5 is ideal. So if you are planting into open ground you will have to check your soil and adjust as needed. Or....large pots in low PH soil.

[j3707]

I don't have experience w/those specific varieties. Where I'm at $8 a pot is a good price. Looks like they are a mix of southern and northern highbush. I would go for it.

[blueberrythrill]

It a great price on newer variety, mostly southern highbush (SHB) developed ant NCSU. Unfortunately, they are more demanding to grow than rabbiteye. Legacy is the exception - it grows more like a rabbiteye. SHB require a low PH, a lot of organic matter and the proper amount of moisture. I grow both rabbiteye and SHB in zone 7B just outside greensboro, NC

[applestar]

I live just north of the cutoff for southern varieties, and that might be why none of those sound familiar. But if they are like the ones I know, one thing to verify is that at least two of the varieties bloom/crop at the same time to insure you have varieties that pollinize each other.

If some of them bloom/crop earlier or later in the season, you can spread out the harvest/blueberry season by getting those different varieties.

[blueberrythrill]

Banana

Can you put me in touch with the guy selling the blueberry? I would like to try several of these newer variety and I reallyu like the price.

Here is a good link from NCSU on blueberry production which includes several of the variety on your list:
http://www.cefs.ncsu.edu/newsevents/eve ... 100212.pdf