[jakes-old-man]

Hi, i recentley bought a collection of blueberry bushes, one to flower in each of july august and september, the july and august ones seem to be doing ok, but he september one doesnt look to good, ther are buds appearing but very litlle foliage, to be honest im a bit unsure what to do with either of the three, there seem to be plenty of flowers but not many leaves is this normal. i was under the impression when i bought them that they were the smaller varietys, but having researched the supplier, i have found they are the hi-bush types.  I have them in 45cm wide pots, in the right compost, and only water with rainwater, or water from an old pond. the guy at the garden centre where i bought hem, said that the 'sourer the water the better, so i assume this is ok. Can anyone give me any advice on keeping these bushes, as i fell im a bit out of my depth
Thanks

[BabbyAnn]

The bushes will flower before the leaves emerge proper.  The recent hot weather is very unusual in that normally this time of year the average temperature would be about 15oC not 25oC so they have been caught a little off guard.  It sounds like you have done everything you need to do so I wouldn't worry about it too much.  Keep well watered and I think they'll be fine.

[JayG]

J-O-M: I'm assuming you are referring to the ripening times rather than the flowering times, and that by "the right compost" you mean ericacious.

They do flower before the leaves are fully developed, and as long as you don't let them dry out in between waterings they should be fine. I think I'd be tempted to test the pH of the pond water in case there is something in it causing a higher pH than expected; the lime in cement is the obvious culprit in a newish, artificial pond although of course if it was filled from the mains it is likely to have the same calcium hardness as the supply, (in fact more, after evaporation.)

If you have blackbirds anything like as blueberry-obsessed as mine be prepared to net your bushes as the fruits ripen!