Transplanting a 4' blueberry plant.

Hi,

Today I was offered, for free, a blueberry plant that is about 4 feet high and 3 feet wide.

The folks offering me the plant do not know what variety it is. They said that the berries are small and tart. This suggests to me that they are the wild berries, or have a lot of the DNA of the wild berries. I love that, as the wild berries have a lot more antioxidants in them than the ones bred to be large and sweet.

I do not want to damage the plant any more than necessary, or to kill the plant. I would appreciate any suggestions anyone has based on experience or research about how to best transplant this blueberry bush.

The bush is starting to bloom. The plant devas at Findhorn said that plants get very upset if someone cuts into them in any way while the plants are blooming. This makes sense to me. However, if I do not transplant it, the folks who are offering it to me will kill it. I hope the devas will understand.

I live in Portland, Oregon.

Thank you very much.

Happy Spring!

you could try this.

It's best to move them when dormant but you don't have a choice now. What's to lose really? They are gonna kill the plant if you don't take it. Blueberries have a shallow root system and fine feeder roots. Try and get as much of the root system as you can and maybe cut the plant back a bit. Water it in, mulch it.

Good luck....

Thanks very much for the replies. That tree digging tool looks awesome, but in this situation the bush is up for grabs to the first person to dig it up, so I think I will have to use a spade or I will lose the chance. I will get more info about that tool. It makes perfect sense. I can check and see if the tool library has one.

Wishing you many antioxidants.

Happiness, Health, Peace and Abundance for All!

Many Thanks and many Blessings,.
Pamela

i have transplanted very large trees, bushes and plants with some success and some not so successful..

best, water well or wait for a very rainy period..make sure the place you are putting it has comparable acid soil and is ready, dig the hole first..then go get it with some burlap or a huge box to set it in to save all the soil possible around the roots, if it is too heavy to lift with all that soil see if you can use a tractor to heft it out and onto a pick up truck bed..with a box..at home you can slide it down some boards into the hole..if you use a cardboard box or some burlap it can be left in to disintegrate and not disturb the soil so much..water it super super well and do not feed it for a while..and mulch it after watering it well to make sure that the moisture doesn't wick out

Thank you, Brenda, That is very helpful. This is certainly a wonderful forum where I will go often in the future to learn and share and ask questions. Thank you, Paul, for setting this up. It is a great tool. Love and Gratitude and Blessings to you all. Pamela

Just wondering, would it be a good idea this year to thin the fruit? I was thinking that might let it expend energy toward roots and leaves...

gani et se wrote:Just wondering, would it be a good idea this year to thin the fruit? I was thinking that might let it expend energy toward roots and leaves...

It would be a good idea to go ahead and prune some from the top, which would naturally thin some fruit too. :-p

From what I have read in authoritative sources, it is a good idea when transplanting a plant of this size to remove the flowers so that it puts its energy into the roots. I plan to do that. Thank you for your replies and suggestions. Very Best Wishes to all of you who cared enough to reply! Pamela

Just an idea, but if you cut it back perhaps you can try getting those cuttings to root. Then if the big plant does not survive, you at least have the cultivar. Maybe try using willow water? http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/home-made-plant-rooting-hormone-willow-water/

J.D. Horn, I will try to root the parts that I cut off.

Thank you for telling me about willow water. I love that idea. I am always very skeptical of weird chemical concoctions in plant nurseries for rooting plants, etc. I really appreciate your telling me about the willow water.

This is a wonderful group of people. Very much on my wavelength.

Blessings,
Pamela

dig a trench about 6-12 inches from the stem(s) of the plant. go as deep as you need to so you get most of the upper rootball. dig out the plant underneath. This will free your bush. wrap the rootball in wet burlap for transport and plant asap. water well for the first month. mulch well.

Thanks, Jordan.

Great info about making willow water to help plants root:

http://www.bluestem.ca/willow-article1.htm

Happiness, Health, Peace and Abundance for All!

Many Blessings,

Pamela