Two Years In The Making

Early last year I saw an ad in the Sunday paper about blueberry bushes that had been developed specifically for growing in containers. The price of the plants seemed reasonable, so I ordered two. The ad said that the plants would be sent out at the proper time based on the zone from which they were ordered. In fact, the plants were sent far too early to be planted outside. And they appeared to be somewhat starved for water to boot. So I potted them in small containers and kept them indoors for quite a while waiting for the weather to warm up.

When outside temperatures finally reached a comfortable level, I hardened off the plants and eventually transplanted them into five gallon containers. It took so long for them to become accustomed to their new environment that they hardly grew at all during the summer. As fall approached I began to wonder whether they could survive our Mid-western winters. I emailed the company that sold the plants for some advice regarding this matter. There was zero response. I looked on the web site to see if there was any information there which would be helpful. There was none. Finally I decided to take the risk and see if they would make it through the winter outdoors. Fortunately, they did.

So now, after two years of waiting, I'll be able to find out if these blueberries were all they were touted to be. If they're not, I'll be the one that's really blue!