If I planted blueberry, raspberry, and blackberries right now, when should I expect?

[bate181]

if i planted the stems right now, when should i expect them to bea

fruit?

btw, im not sure which zone im in. los angeles county if that help ehh

-- bate181

[TQ]

I planted my raspberry canes back in the spring of '95 and it took several yrs for a decent patch to develop. Three of the five canes died and were replaced by the seed company the following yr. After a couple yrs treading water in their original location, they jumped into the adjoining bed and have been happy ever since.

You can reasonably expect low production in the first couple yrs with better results later on. One thing you have going for you; the plants don/t need no fancy soil. The best thing you can do for them is to remove the old canes.

YMMV.

[newgardener]

I've been thinking about putting in some blueberries too, so I've been reading up on them. So what I say here is based on reading not experience.

First--acidic soil. Most of our soil is basic (pH> 7) here in CA. They suggest mixing it 50% with peat moss to a depth of 1 foot and a diameter of 2.5 feet. I've seen some sites say deeper than a foot but the plants are supposed to be shallow-rooted so that is probably overkill. Like everything else they like 'direct sun, good drainage, adequate water'. In LA that probably means morning sun and afternoon shade. They should have at least 6 hours of sun though.

Secondly, you need about 2 'southern highbush' type bushes per person to get good portion sizes over an extended season. The 'southern highbush' have a lower chill requirement than other categories of blueberry which is why they are the category that is good for CA. They also fruit better if they are able to cross-pollenate between different cultivars. So, if you have one Reveille, you'd want to buy a Misty or a Bluecrop as the other bush (I think Bluecrop likes it a bit colder than Misty though). I think O'Neal is another warm weather variety. Anyway, buy bushes that differ from each other so they cross pollenate--this is supposed to give you more yield and larger berries. You can pick varieties that are supposed to be 'early', 'midseason', or 'late' in combination so that you have blueberries over a longer season.

Stores in your area probably carry types good for your area, so as long as you buy two different kinds you only have to pay attention to the exact names if you order on the web from someone outside the area.

If your area is shady you might consider going to a native plant nursery and buying huckleberries, which are smaller and tarter and good for muffins and pancakes. You can also grow these from seed. They like the same soil but partial to full shade. If you have a problem watering enough in the afternoon sun these might work better because the ground will loose water more slowly in the shade. I think, as native plants, they do not require pruning.

All the above are supposed to like a *lot* of mulch on top of the soil due to their shallow roots and preference for moisture. The references I found said 4 inches. I'm guessing they mean out to the 'dripline' (the tips of the branches).

The references also say that for best results blueberries should not be allowed to fruit in the first year--flowers should be removed as they appear. There was also a detailed instruction on how to prune them in winter but I forget the details. It did not sound any harder than pruning roses (probably easier since there are no thorns to worry about), so you'll probably have to look up the details yourself on that.

Again, all the above is book learning, I don't have personal experience with blueberries yet.

I'm northeast of Salinas.