trial and error with blueberry burst (forum)

starling starts with ...
Is anybody growing blueberry burst? I just re-potted mine today into some fairly massive pots. Soil mixture was about 50% azalea mix, 40% potting mix and 10% sand. On top of this I put the bunnings potting mix as mulch (it really is crap, litterally just little bits of pine bark) which is all that it is really good for, but hey, at 2.50$ a bag I won't complain.

Thing is I can't figure out how much sun or what sort of sun they need. I put them out on a hot day recently and they wilted within hours. I've now got them in a shady spot but they seem to have plateaued. Any know the right light for this variety?
S

Time: 21st September 2013 5:13pm

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amanda says...
Shade is good starling...mine are in the ground and on the south side of our property - they only get a few hours of direct sun in summer - and that's before about 1pm...and it's mostly lightly filtered sun..
Keep them out of hot afternoon summer sun...(where are you..?)

Morning sun is best.

Time: 21st September 2013 7:49pm

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starling says...
I'm at whiteside amanda, it's about 30 mins drive or so from brisbane city, northside. Thanks for the feedback, I've got a dappled sun spot I think they might like.

S

Time: 21st September 2013 8:27pm

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Anonymous says...
Im growing 2 of them in Adelaide in 400mm diam pots.50 percent Azalea mix 50 % Premium potting mix with 20% potting mix sand added to Premium potting mix plus 25 % Chicken manure added to the whole lot.I use Leaves as mulch .Check ph level add sulphur as required.They love morning sun.Mine dont get late afternoon sun though With summer approaching this will be an issue in Adelaide. .I have one blueberry on one plant.They love low saline water.If you have rainwater water them every second day.If you have a waterfilter water them with that water. Salinity of tapwater in Adelaide is a problem. With the higher sand levels the soil will dry quicker but sand makes the soil free draining ,this is what blueberries love but this is the trade off.Good luck.

Time: 21st September 2013 8:34pm

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yry says...
Blueberries don't like their nitrogen in the form of nitrates and prefer their potassium as the sulphate not the chloride. You'll find the Premium potting mix does not necessarily suit blueberries.

Time: 22nd September 2013 9:52am

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Julie says...
WA folks - Blueberry burst will be available here in November. Dawsons and Bunnings will stock it, don't know who else.

So we must be patient!

Amanda, are you referring to blueberries in general, or do you have BB? Mine do well with morning sun and afternoon shade in summer.

Time: 22nd September 2013 10:44am

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starling says...
yry,

should I add some potassium sulphate to the soil, or do you mean that potassium chloride will be harmful to them and that I should repot?

S

Time: 22nd September 2013 12:34pm

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yry says...
You should get a result, regardless,but in general when setting up a blueberry patch one should avoid chloride and nitrate ions in the fertiliser. So organic manures are OK, as is ammonium sulphate and potassium sulphate. Peat and coco peat( washed to remove salt) with coco peat coming a distant second are helpful but peat is expensive and the environmental consequences of extraction are problematic.

Time: 22nd September 2013 1:24pm

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2485 says...
yry your right on every count but in my case economics will dictate what growing medium I use.Peat and coco fibre is very dear and I will always explore alternatives.They are growing now and fruiting ,if they curl over and die tomorrow I will grow new ones the orthodox way,but for now you all know they can be grown in other soil mediums.

Time: 22nd September 2013 1:50pm

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Black Finger says...
HI STARLING - BLUEBERRY BURST Cultivar
I've just seen a gardening episode of Get Dirty With Milton dated 24 April 2015 in which he discusses the Blueberry Burst plant (it was his plant of the week).
This TV gardening show is shown on Channel 44 Perth, every Fri morning at 5am-5:45am. I tape the show each week, but check the TV Times or ring the TV Channel for information on program times.
Miton Vadoulis stated that when planting this plant that it should be kept in mind it requires an acid soil.
Also when potting up the plant use a largish pot.
The soil should be mixed 50:50 normal acid potting mix from the Garden Centres (or make up your own, etc) together with fairly fine pine chips. According to Milton this gives the best growing soil for this acid loving plant.
Attributes of this cultivar is that it is self pollinating, it is evergreen, it grows approx 1M high x 75cm wide.
When you've finished planting, give it a feed of 'slow release' fertiliser suitable for acid loving plants
When you've finished planting, give the plant pot a topping of the fine pine chips you've used.
Repeat the slow release fertiliser treatment every 3 months.
Watering is important should the plant be in the WA Perth climate (hot as hell in summer!) so if it wilts, or is in danger of doing so, water the plant & move it to a cooler area of your garden.
Keep in mind, that most acid loving plants will become chlorotic (i.e. show yellow-green leaves) without a low enough pH (5.5 or so). This leaf discolouration MAY be reflected in this plant variety showing a lack of an acid soil.
This variety of the Blueberry is best grown in pots, as stated above.
Milton Vadoulis (Get Down & Dirty) recommended keeping the plant in partial shade if it's too hot, in semi-sun if it is cooler - but definitely keep up the watering. Water twice a day if necessary.
Apparently the fruit the plant develops is 3x larger than the normal Blueberry plant. Fruiting will start July-August & it will continue to fruit for 3-4 months.
So it's well worth planting.
With regard to acid loving plants, the Hydrangea is one such animal.
Although this information is a little late (your enquiry was 2013) & you've probably seen the garden show mentioned, I'm supplying this information for those who may have similar enquiries with regard to this amazing cultivar
David

Time: 25th April 2015 2:23pm

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Juneli says...
Thankyou Black Finger for sharing that info. My question is this. Is anybody getting berries the size of dollar coins on their bushes as was stated in the marketing hype to push sales of this berry? I certainly have not seen big ones on mine.

Time: 26th April 2015 7:42am

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Markmelb says...
I don't think we are making the potting mix acid enough - if you look at their latest stocks in nurseries they have a mix high in peat with sand - i will be doing same when i up pot mine - my BBs have grown better since replacing top inch as peat with pine needle mulch and sulphur granules. About one Metre tall now.

Time: 26th April 2015 7:53am

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ivepeters says...
First fruiting, comparable to my Gulf Coast bb.
Maybe larger later. Promo hype more than likely.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 26th April 2015 7:59am

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Markmelb says...
Are you getting fruit now ivepeters? Or is that a old pic with 5c? My BBs going into winter hibernation. One thing to note they dont taste as good as Nellie Kellie evergreen BB or Annie deciduous - but friend had fruit 3/4 dollar size - so is that 75cent size? LOL

Time: 26th April 2015 8:23am

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ivepeters says...
Old pic of the first time it fruited..
All my bb's stopped, except sharpblue which is still cranking them out.

Time: 26th April 2015 8:35am

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Waterfall says...
BB and sharp blue are both flowering right now for me, all other varieties are still green but no flowers.


Time: 26th April 2015 10:00am

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Juneli says...
My BB is flowering heavily at present and also fruited through the wet season. I don't know if it fruits here in Mackay all year round as I was given the plant as a present last October.

Time: 26th April 2015 2:44pm

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Black Finger says...
HI JUNELI

Could the problem be that the plant being a cooler climate vegetation resists the humidity / heat of Mackay?
Try Markmelb's comment about increasing the acidity of the soil - " ... replacing top inch as peat with pine needle mulch and sulphur granules ... "
I'll give that a try & send you the results on this page at a later time.
Blueberries apparently don't fruit outside Autumn here in Perth.

Time: 8th May 2015 12:55pm

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Juneli says...
Thanks BLACKFINGER for taking an interest in my problem. I did repot my bush after reading Markmelb's post with 50% good potting mix and 50 % bark chips and have fed it with azalea food and Seasol. I also water it with liquid sulphur every couple of weeks. But you are probably right about the climate here being a major factor in the size of the berries. Like a lot of people on this forum I do push the climate boundaries for what is suitable for my area at times.

Time: 10th May 2015 3:07pm

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Markmelb says...
Juneli - please note we said we used premium azalea mix like Debco 50/50 with something close to or like Amgrow wettasoil pine bark mulch - i still needed to make that mix more acid- in future will do 35/35 plus 20 peat and 10 washed course sand to keep acid levels high.

Time: 10th May 2015 3:45pm

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Juneli says...
The Azalia Mix that I used a few years back with other blueberries wasn't available at Porter's or Bunnings when I received this plant last year and both retailers seemed to think it was no longer being ordered in or had been discontinued. However the plant is still flourishing with flowers and fruit and is only half a metre tall. I doubt it would be so leafy and producing flowers if the mix it is in now wasn't acidic enough. The question I am asking is this - are other forum members getting blueberries the size of a dollar coin who live in cooler regions? If they are then the problem I have is humidity. If they are getting just regular berries then the advertising was just propaganda to increase sales

Time: 13th May 2015 1:43pm

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Markmelb says...
Juneli - watch this space in spring as we didnt either last year on our year old plants - maybe they need more maturity?

Tell you tho - the Nellie Kellie evergreen is far better tasting than Burst was last year and they were both treated exactly the same and sat together to chat as they do :)

Time: 13th May 2015 5:21pm

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Julie says...
Matt, that is amazing growth for such a short time. Mine have not done quite so well, and I'm in a cooler area (hills outside Perth WA). How do you feed them?

I wasn't impressed with the size or taste - Misty was much nicer. I'm beginning to suspect we have all been conned. And I like to think I resist the power of advertising!

Time: 3rd June 2015 8:11pm

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Matt8279 says...
I bought 4 of these to try out. I killed one of them by accident while trying to get rid of ants so I had to get a replacement. First picture was when I first got them 30th Sept'2014. Really tiny plants and they were about 14 weeks as I was told so roughly 3 and a half months. They grew quite aggressively and 2nd picture was in Apr'2015 so they are about 10 months old I guess. Then they starting to bloom with lots of flowers but growth wise they stopped which is properly normal since all their energy is devoted to the fruit production. 3rd picture is taken yesterday 2nd Jun'2015 (probably about 1 year old now) where the flowers have mostly dropped and now they are fruiting a fair bit, very few blue ripe ones as they were early. My 3 year old is not giving them a chance to get any bigger anyway. Most of them are green as well. It will probably be a while before they are actually ripe and I can finally comment on the taste and size of the blueberries. At the moment they are not impressive in size but its their first year anyway. Will update at a later stage as well
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2
Picture: 3

Time: 3rd June 2015 10:52pm

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Matt8279 says...
I tried to follow exactly according to the instructions they gave me that came with the plant. Grew them in the biggest pot I could find at Bunnings. 50cm Plastic whisky barrel pots. Used the 50% azelea mix and 50% pineback. Mixed in with fertilizer slow release for 6 month type and mulch the top layer alot. The pots are all sitting in my alfresco so they get lots of sun but I have the option to bring shift them into the shade as required. I also ensure that if it rains, the blueberries are brought inside since the leaves hate water and are susceptible to fungus so I also spray some copper hydroxide (kocide brand)as a preventitive measure against rusting. So the leaves hardly get wet at all.

In the start I watered regularly at the base of plant and did not give them full sun. Only morning sun. As they grew I shifted them over to as much sun as they can get without overheating. I live in Qld where the afternoons can get pretty darn hot so I do water once every two days but been a bit slack in this wintery weather and maybe once every 3 days. I use powerfeed maybe once every 2 weeks. and added more of the slow release fertiliser after the first 6 months. I suspect that my soil is not acidic enough and I am not feeding it enough of the right fertiliser to enable huge fruits. That's just my guess.

I tried testing the ph with that ph tester stick that you put in the soil but that's not accurate at all. I'm going to get my colleague to help me test my soil. She's a chemistry teacher with all the right equipment to do a proper test for free. Lol.

The birds have started to scout out my blueberry plants as I have four of them. Went to bunnng to get some bird/pest netting. Since blueberries cost like $55/kg now, I better protect my investment. I already have enough competition from my 3 year old. Maybe the netting will keep him out as well.

Picture was taken on the 7th of Feb'2015 and I got the 4 of them in Sept'2014 in the other picture.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 3rd June 2015 10:53pm

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Markmelb says...
Matt - did you read my post 10th May above - use more peat - also sulpheracid granules too - they really like it acid.

if you look at the Bursts latest potting mixes as they are sold they are very high in peat - I did this extra addition to the top 2 inches of one I got last year and is almost as big as my 2 year old one and is flowering ahead of it too.
Leaves on mine are always wet and never get fungal issues either. Maybe its your humidity - I would use yates Liquid copper - very simple and wont burn - good for mangos and stone fryuit too :)

Time: 3rd June 2015 10:57pm

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Julie says...
Matt:"I tried testing the ph with that ph tester stick that you put in the soil but that's not accurate at all."


I use the Mantec Ph test kit, it seems to be pretty accurate, and I have used a few over the years. Not expensive.

My blueberries are out in all weathers, so I can't see that water on leaves could be a problem.

Time: 5th June 2015 3:17pm

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Matt8279 says...
I'll try to test the ph first and adjust accordingly. Thanks.

Time: 7th June 2015 3:44pm

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