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Author Topic: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland  (Read 5586 times)

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« on: January 10, 2019, 09:45:31 pm »

Any suggestions from someone growing them successfully in the North? They will be going into half-barrels, so plenty of space but need to be hardy as no way of moving when full of compost… Have not grown them before, thinking a couple of varieties suggested in "Fruit&Vegetables for Scotland" - "Chandler" (just because I am 90's girl) and "Duke", possibly "Spartan"?




sandspider

  • Joined Aug 2015
  • Bristol
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2019, 10:19:16 pm »
I'm quite a long way south of you, chepstow, but I'm growing earliblue blueberries with quite a bit of success- in a fairly cold, damp Welsh valley. Planted directly into the ground. Earliblues are supposedly hardy, but I don't know how far north they'd do well...

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2019, 10:47:55 pm »
Hi Anke, why don't you give Scotplants a call?  I'm sure they'll be able to recommend the right varieties for your location.

Also, see if you can get a Saskatoon berry bush too. They taste like a cross between a blueberry and a blackcurrant, and are very hardy.
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2019, 12:17:35 am »
I have a couple of blueberry plants in large buckets sunk into the garden. They've always produced a decent number of berries but the size of currants. They are in ericaceous compost which increased the quantity but not the quality.

Steph Hen

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Angus Scotland.
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2019, 07:55:45 am »
Do let us know what you find out please. :-)

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2019, 10:57:28 am »
Hi Anke, why don't you give Scotplants a call?  I'm sure they'll be able to recommend the right varieties for your location.

Also, see if you can get a Saskatoon berry bush too. They taste like a cross between a blueberry and a blackcurrant, and are very hardy.



Thanks Womble, I will do indeed. Never heard of Saskatoon berry before, but sounds interesting...

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2019, 11:01:10 am »
But I guess the Saskatoon also needs netting to protect from birds after flowering?

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2019, 11:11:57 am »
Also can't comment on varieties but I bought a few different ones and they all do as well as each other here mid wales.. also in the ground in holes i filled with ericaceous at the time but I spread a little sulphur around them every year now. Some varieties are just small berried and not worth the bother of picking in good years compared to the bigger ones.

For challenging conditions consider honey-berries?

sandspider

  • Joined Aug 2015
  • Bristol
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2019, 11:32:22 am »
I put coffee grounds on mine. They seem to do well. Though I've not tried growing any without coffee grounds to be fair!

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2019, 11:35:02 am »
Never heard of Saskatoon berry before, but sounds interesting...


They're quite new in this country I believe, but have been eaten wild for hunners of years in Western America. Apparently they're now considered a superfood, whatever one of those is!  ;)

Yes, you will need to net the berries to deter birds, but then you'll have to do that with blueberries too.

BTW, a top tip for blueberries - buy a few bushes, and then take cuttings and propagate from them. They root really well and before you know it, you'll have loads of bushes at minimal cost. As a result, we now have some growing in our hedge now which we leave mostly unpicked so the birds can have them.
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2019, 01:35:39 pm »
Never heard of Saskatoon berry before, but sounds interesting...


They're quite new in this country I believe, but have been eaten wild for hunners of years in Western America. Apparently they're now considered a superfood, whatever one of those is!  ;)

Yes, you will need to net the berries to deter birds, but then you'll have to do that with blueberries too.

BTW, a top tip for blueberries - buy a few bushes, and then take cuttings and propagate from them. They root really well and before you know it, you'll have loads of bushes at minimal cost. As a result, we now have some growing in our hedge now which we leave mostly unpicked so the birds can have them.



I was wondering re propagation…. it's what I do with my blackcurrants.

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2019, 10:37:15 pm »
I've never succeeded with blueberry cuttings so tips appreciaed. The youtube vids on the subject usually involve green cuttings with leaves and mist spraying until rooted.Having said that I probably have enough bushes now.. couldn't eat them all last year and they are crappy after freezing (still got a few pounds frozen). I bought some of mine as cheapo plants from Wilco.

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #12 on: January 12, 2019, 06:11:43 pm »
We just pruned them when in leaf, stuck the cuttings in a jar of water, and they rooted no problem. Perhaps we just got lucky, but it wasn't exactly rocket surgery!
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

clydesdaleclopper

  • Joined Aug 2009
  • Aberdeenshire
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #13 on: January 12, 2019, 09:28:43 pm »
You can get some great varieties of Saskatoon from the agroforestry research trust - Ballerina is my favourite. With Blueberries varieties like Jersey haven't done well up here. Bluecrop and Duke are the best in my opinion (we have about 8 varieties)

Our holding has Anglo Nubian and British Toggenburg goats, Gotland sheep, Franconian Geese, Blue Swedish ducks, a whole load of mongrel hens and two semi-feral children.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Blueberries - varieties suitable for Southeast Scotland
« Reply #14 on: January 12, 2019, 11:40:13 pm »
I'm tempted by the thought of growing saskatoons. What do they taste like? My jostaberry, which is a cross between blackcurrants and gooseberries, taste like blackcurrants but they are slightly bigger and don't have thorns.

 

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