[gathsman]

I've got 3 planted in the ground, how should I keep the soil acidic??

[Trillium]

You can sprinkle sulphur powder or a sulphur compound on the soil, or mulch with pine needles, or feed with an acidic fertilizer for rhododendrons, or all the forementioned.

[Plot74]

I planted mine in the soil even put plenty of pine needles in but ended up having to move it into a large pot with ericaceous compost as the leaves began to wilt.
Not sure what your soil is like but it pays to check.
John

[Trillium]

I know many will want to jump down my throat, but we usually plant ours in soil mixed heavily with peat (which is still in very good supply here). That drops the acidity quickly, though my mother planted hers straight into regular soil and manures it each year with a mix of pigeon and chicken poop and hers are doing just fine. Without some acidic amendments, blueberries may not take to certain soils. Especially if you use tapwater which tends to be more alkaline.

[sunshineband]

Wilting is not a sign of blueberries being in soil that is not acid enough. They woudl have yellowing leaves and fail to thrive.

Wilting may have been due to insufficient water, or newly planted bushes that needed time to settle in -- they do like to be kept damp

[rcf100]

I have some plants now!!!  With hundreds of fruits on!!! The difference a day makes

[Trillium]

And you can bet the birds have already earmarked your plants for raiding. Mine are sagging with berries and I must put the netting on tomorrow because the flying thieves will steal even unripe berries when they get large enough 

[rcf100]

I went out to a nursery near here that is very good.  They've changed nursery men this last year and this guy doesn't know about fruit and veg.  Awesome - they had a number of plants that were left over from last year,  he said he was just watering them, was going to cut them back this season and see how they did for next year, so taking them was doing me him a favour.

3 gorgeous plants, £5 each, then the compost should have been £5.50 but it had some holes inso he only charged me £3.50.

These plants are laden with fruit.  I've popped them into the green house tonight as they've been kept in their huge house/poly all season, so I'll harden them off then net them up as I need to do our strawbs in the next couple of days.

I'm giving one to my parents as I don't have the room as the bushes are quite well established.  Sent hubby to B&Q as he was getting some other stuff, asked him to get a couple of pots and he turned up with some, not only the right size, but nice, frost proof pot and only £10 each.

Today has been a good day.

Anyone in West Cumbria, get yourself to bank mill!  He was also offering me a really good deal on plum and peach trees, but I need to do a little research on them, but I have now earmarked a place to have one...I feel a new post coming on!