Are blueberries self-fertile?

absfabs

I was hoping someone could tell me if I need 2 or more blueberry bushes for fruit to set?

I have 2 types in pots on the patio, Earlyblue and Chandler, had them for about 3 years, one has always been prolific, and the other a bit more delicate.

This spring the strong one (I think it's the Chandler but am not sure, labels long gone) has lots of buds, and the other one looks practically dead, 1 tiny shrivelled bud.

Do I need to get a mate for the good one? Or will it set fruit by itself?

Thanks for your help!

Money_maker

They are self fertile.

absfabs

Thanks Money-maker, that's just what I was hoping to hear.

realfood

While they are self-fertile, you are likely to get better crops with 2 varieties.

absfabs

Confused.

Has anyone here just grown one plant and had a satisfactory crop?

seraphina

Not all blueberries are self fertile - in fact it's only recently that you can get self-fertile varieties. You'll need to look up each individual variety to see whether it's self fertile or not - it's hard to tell given that you've grown yours beside each other.

Lotus-eater

I thought they were all self fertile, so that's interesting.

I know someone who has grown a single bush for many years and has got a good crop each year.
But, I understand that it is better if you have 2 or 3 varieties together.

A._Badger

The Trehanes, who more or less pioneered commercial blueberries in the UK and know more about them than most (and with 30 acres under cultivation, why wouldn't they?!), have an interesting comment about self-fertility on their website.

"Technically there are some blueberry varieties which are more self fertile than others, such as Sunshine Blue. There are no reliable figures for each variety, so growers have always recommended more than one variety to assist with cross pollination

"In general, blueberry varieties will all flower at similar times and there will be some overlap, so choosing varieties is easy.

Do ask your retailer if you want to make sure"

You can find them at www.dorset-blueberry.com/

Hope that's some help.

absfabs

Thanks all! Found a bit of the label, the strong plant is Chandler, so the sickly one must be Earlyblue.

I cut the Earlyblue back quite a bit last autumn as it hadn't done well, it's also in a smaller pot than Chandler.

Gave Earlyblue some TLC today, fresh ericaceous (?spelling) compost and a good talking to!