Question
QUESTION: Hi, I'm interested in growing blueberries in a pot here in Hawaii and was wondering if you think I should buy a book to guide me or chance it and go down the trial and error path.  I do have a couple of books on growing vegetables/herbs but don't know if the techniques used in those books can be applied to berries.  I'm a novice gardener who doesn't know much beyond watering plants.

ANSWER: Blueberries in Hawaii... hmmm.

First, lettuce venture over to the Garden Academy website's 'Understanding Chill Hours' for a lesson in Blueberry Life:

www.thegardenacademy.com/fruit-gardening-classroom/understanding-chill-hours

As they point out, 'Everyone who is interested in growing their own fruit will eventually be faced with the issue of 揷hill hours? or chill units (CU),' a complicated and not entirely understood subject, they point out.

Peaches, Apples, Blueberries and many other fruits that have evolved in climates colder than yours -- pretty much the rest of the country -- have chill requirements to survive winter temperatures.  Growers of these fruits monitor their local average Chill Hours.  They also know exactly how many of those Chill Hours are needed by the fruits they grow and sell.  They pick varieties that will thrive in the Chill Hours they have available to them.  And all this keeps them in business.

Fall Creek Farm, an Oregon nursery, posts a variety chart with required Chill Hours on its website:

www.fallcreeknursery.com/Nursery/VarietyChart/SouthernHighbush.htm

The Southern Highbush Sunshine Blue Blueberries are the least demanding.  You need a minimum of 150 Chill Hours to grow one of those, which you can do in Southern California.  This variety also tolerates a less Acid Soil than the typical Blueberry bush.

Which brings us to another problem:  Soil pH.

Plants don't just grow in Soil.  Their roots are immersed in chemical reactions between the plant and the Soil around it.  Blueberries can't function unless their Soil is Acidic, with a low pH.

Do you know your Soil's pH?  In fact, do you know ANYTHING about your Soil?

That's why we have SOIL TESTING!  And you can learn all about that here, where University of Hawaii's College of Agriculture posts 'A Guide To Soil Testing For Hawaii's Residents':

www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/TPSS/research_extension/rxsoil/soilsample.htm

Because all Soil is not created equal.  It is absolutely critical that you know exactly what your Soil is made of so that you can be a successful gardener -- without the trial and error of success and failure as you grow Blueberries, or anything else.

You might like to take a look at the Fruits of Warm Climates chart while you're at it:

Fruits of warm climates: www.hawaiifruit.net

Blueberries are not a beginner's bush.  The pH requirements are not easy to sustain unless you somehow got lucky and live on a very acidic plot of land (in which case Blueberries, Gardenias and a handful of other shrubs are the ONLY things you can grow in a pH that low).  These will however ALWAYS be an uphill battle.  Between the pH and the climate challenges, you are never going to see the end of this.  That said, I've never met a gardener who took NO for an answer.  I get this all the time.  In fact, I used to have a pair of full size Orange Trees in the back of my house here on Long Island - hauled indoors every Winter.

So give this your best shot, and just see how it goes.  Gardening is a journey.  You never lose when you go out there to grow something, whether it's a Ginkgo Tree or a Phalaenopsis Orchid or a Lawn or an Apple Tree or Blueberries in Hawaii.  You will know, a year from now, SO MUCH more than you know today.  And that is wonderful.

Welcome to the club, Sean.  Keep me posted.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Great info, thanks!  I was interested on planting a berry bush in a foot tall pot that I'm using to test grow a few carrots and use the soil that's currently in there (I had bought some kind of soil from Walmart that's suitable for growing vegetables and plants).  The carrots are growing nicely and I've read that carrots like soil that's a little acidic but I'm sure I'll still have to be careful if I do plant a berry bush in there.

If I do decide to plant a blueberry bush, would the pot I have be deep enough for the roots?  I'd hate to buy a bigger pot since I'm cash-strapped but then again I wouldn't want the bush to suffer.

Answer
It is certainly acceptable to grow shrubs in pots, so long as the pots are big enough.  Given you have the pot already, you now must find a Blueberry Bush specimen that is small enough to develop a strong root system without being confined.  If you choose a variety of Rabbiteye Blueberry (Vaccinium virgatum aka Vaccinium ashei), you'll have to grow two so that they can cross-pollinate, since V ashei is self-infertile.

Step 1: Figure out how big this pot is.  Pour water out of filled quart-sized juice containers and count how many quarts it will hold.  You'll need a minimum of 2 gallons of water to fit inside that pot.  Less than that, save it for another plant.

Step 2:  Prepare your Soil.  Mix 50/50 Sphagnum Peat (which is acidic) and Potting Soil.  Combine with several generous handfuls of Cottonseed Meal and mix well.  Take a small handful, moisten, and sprinkle Baking Soda on the surface.  If you hear fizzing, Bravo! The pH is below 5.0.  If not, sprinkle Soil surface with Flowers of Sulphur (and continue every month) AND water only with vinegar-spiked water.  Note that not all Sulfur is 'Sulfur'; the Sulfur in fertilizer does not correct Soil pH.

Step 3:  Time to plant.  Mound Soil in center, then set roots branching out over mound.  Drench with Vinegar-spiked Water.  Place in the Sunniest spot in your Garden, and wait.

Here's the PlanTea website's excellent online primer on pH:

www.plantea.com/pH.htm

For ongoing reference, you can refer to the United States Highbush Council website:

www.blueberry.org/gardening.htm

and the Alabama Cooperative Extension report, 'How to grow rabbiteye blueberries':

www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1078/