blueberry bush for balcony

BigDonut

Hi,
Im planning to get some blueberry bushes for my balcony.

I know I need to get the short Bush type but does anyone have any recommendations for which variety to get?

also considering goji berry bushes. any recommendations?

thanks

sobie

blueberries are partly self-fertile but for the best crop you'll need two different varieties/ polinating partners for blueberries,

I like Bluecrop (which is a mid season) its really reliable (the one commercial growers use). Top Hat would be a good partner to grow with it, and top hat is a dwarf variety.

We live in a hard water area so I struggle to grow them in dry summers (saved rain water soon runs out)

Leif

Goji berry is one of those silly 'super foods' which basically means it is pushed by trendy types in the Sunday papers and elsewhere. I was tempted, but searching online, it seems that no-one can get them to fruit in the UK, despite the tempting sales pitches on the sellers' web sites.

BigDonut

bluecrop is a definite then.
id seen tophat but thought it looked very small

Jersey and goldtraube are others I've seen. would they be suitable as a pollinating partner for bluecrop?

thanks for the info about goji berry, willsave a wasted effort. any recommendations for another fruit for the balcony.

zzzLazyDaisy

A quick google suggests that goji berries can be grown in UK and have been for many years. No idea of the success rate, but for £3.50 it has to be worth a try, even just for the curiosity value...

http://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/Goji_Berry_Plant/

Though they look like a rather large shrub for a balcony.

dogstarheaven

i would imagine that the goji would be too vigorous for balcony growing and despite that it could crop in this country, there's little evidence that it is successful. if you want results, then strawberries are a good bet as they take up less room and they send runners every year, thus, multiplying your stock year upon year. whereas gojis might take some years before you get any fruits. i'm not sure whether the black/red/gooseberry/raspberry would be ok in containers, but these are more likely than the goji to fruit for you. figs are successful in pots.

TallGirl

I bought this type of blueberry Vaccinium Corymbosum Patriot last year from Lidl and although they grew I didnt get any flowers on them. I wanted 3 so I got a Brigitta to go with them and its much larger and this year they all have flower buds (very South Coast).

What I wanted to say is depending on how impatient you are buy a slightly larger older plant. I think they look great in pots and the leaves are a lovely red colour in late Autumn and Winter.

Water with rain water and remember acid soil mix in the pots.

BigDonut

I've found somewhere that sells 2 year old plants 30-40cm in height.

I didn't know about watering with rain water. I'll start collecting some now!

wattapain

Also they need to be planted in Ericaceous compast.

dogstarheaven

one of my original ones, 'bluecrop' (Wilko's, about £3) was in a pot for 3 years and it never fruited until i planted in the ground last year (soil's just about acidic enough) and it gave me the sweetest berries ever. although, the plant's still 10" x 6", i had about 10 berries at the most. On the other hand, the variety i bought last feb. and planted in a big pot (with ericaceous), 'ozarkblue' was 2'5 x 10", i had about 40 berries (weren't meant to have let the fruit). So depending on the size of plant you buy, you'd be waiting a couple of years to get a decent crop. hopefully, this year they'll do much better, that is if the sun stays out long enough, and i'll get more berries.

has anyone blueberries done well in a pot? if so, what size/and age and variety are they and how sweet were they?

thanks!