I've been scouting areas where I could transplant the four blueberries to. The sunny strip along the gravel garden has room now, but as the fothergillas grow I'll have the same problem I do already with the vaccinium being overtopped by the amsonias. And I know I want to move the gaura there, and the sourwood and . . .
One plan is containers on the patio, handy for picking if they fruit well again, and in a pot I could control the soil acidity.
Here's a great site (Growingtaste.com) with very specific container info on blueberries. This is what they say about Northblue:Northblue: typical height, 1½ to 3½ feet; vigorous growth habit; berries are large and dark blue, with flavor reportedly superior to most highbush cultivars; at maturity will produce 3 to 12 pounds of fruit per bush per season; self-compatible. Described as "a real workhorse"; a very reliable cropper". Fall color particularly vivid. Wow, if only.
I really do not want to spend money to get big pots (need 20 gallons at least and that is 20 to 24 inches across). I like the architectural woodsy look of the shrubs in the garden. I don't want to be wrestling big containers around. And the patio just isn't that big to handle several barrels of shrubs.
Amazon has a fiberglass barrel big enough, 21 inches wide, $50. It looks very nice and would work well:
But.
Instead I think I will move the recently transplanted Blue Ice amsonia from the strip in front of Meadow's Edge (put it in the Birch Garden if it can be re-transplanted one more time and survive). Put the blueberries in there.
Some pruning is in order for my plants:
- Remove thin, twiggy stems, crossing or horizontal shoots, or stems close to the ground.
- Cut back some branches to the base, and others to strong upright shoots.
- Once a cane is six years old, remove it, as they do not produce well after this age. By that age, they are usually thick with peeling gray bark
- Prune to a low, strong-growing upward-facing bud or shoot.
- By the time you're finished pruning an established bush, you should have cut out roughly 15 percent of the old growth.
