Will blueberries grow well in a container?

puzzlejunky · Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:34 pm

I'd love to grow blueberries...but I don't want to make my soil too acidic for my other plants. Do they lend themselves well to container growing? Which varieties do well like this? I'm in Pennsylvania..zone 6b.

applestar · Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:40 pm

Since you are in the north, you would be able to grow the smaller lowbush blueberries in containers (it still needs to be pretty big containers unless you get one of the very small cultivars.

I think highbush and southern rabbit eye blueberry cultivars get too big for containers.

rainbowgardener · Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:52 am

Agree with applestar, there are dwarf blueberry varieties, like TopHat and Sunshine Blue, that do just fine in large containers. A full sized one, probably not.

puzzlejunky · Sat Apr 18, 2015 8:04 pm

Thanks. I am wanting the top hat because it is selfpollinating...but everyone is out of them. I may have to wait til next growing season.

I had two plants a few years ago but they died shortly after replanting. I'm guessing the soil wasn't acid enough.

Will gurneys blueberry food provide enough acid? Sorry I can't post a link as I don't know how to paste on my kindle.

Www.gurneys.com. search "blueberry food"

How do you achieve enough acidity in a container?

I have a deep rustic metal wagon that is about 3 foot by 3 foot and a foot and a half deep. Would that be big enough?

CharlieBear · Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:33 am

Just so you know Top Hat has very small berries that are hard to pick. It has to be watched very closely when planted in containers. The heat of the summer can easily kill them if they dry out and they are less hardy in the winter in a pot then they would be in the ground, making them more likely to freeze out. As for acidity you need to use sulfur to lower ph not the fertilizer. You would have to check the soil for ph and lowering it is usually done the previous year by adding sulfur every 2 months and letting it wash in. If you have the room it would be best to dedicate a space like a flower bed for the blueberries. Note, even so called self-fertile varieties are usually only semi-self fertile and still do better with a second plant of a different variety. The really small plants bear small amounts of fruit even when they are full grown. If you plant them in the ground you need 2 different varieties both mid or late for pollination. Northern High Bush would be the best in 6a.

puzzlejunky · Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:45 pm

Thanks Charliebear. I'm not sure if I'll plant them now. Seems like a lot of work..and I really did want them in a container. It's a plan for next season..so I have plenty of time to research and think it over. I love fresh blueberries..but short on space and I don't know if I want an acidic section of the yard. Thanks.

MrBote · Sat May 02, 2015 7:34 pm

I'm growing southern high bush in containers. A couple of points. It is easier to control ph. Peat has a ph of around 4.4 give or take so you don't have to add anything to it but perlite and it will stay acidic for a long time. I use the acid loving plant fertilizer and add coffee grounds periodically. I bought 3 bare root plants last Oct and they were pretty sorry looking specimens that were obviously propagated by cuttings. I kept them in 2 gallon pots this year and plucked the flowers off so they would not make fruit and they are looking much better. Next fall I will put them in 15 gallon containers. and see how far they will go with that.