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I had a quick question, because I'm trying to figure up my mulch and fertilizer needs for this Spring. I had bought my father a couple of blueberry plants, among others, because that's what he wanted for his birthday. They've been in the ground about 2 weeks and I've been watering everything, but I need to get it mulched before the hot dry weather kicks in.

In South Carolina, we have the Clemson Ag Extension which puts out great info on local plants and their care. They suggest making a mound around the plant of peat moss and sand to help with water amounts and acidifying the soil. The say that if you mound it you have to water it more often.

Being honest, I wouldn't water the 2-3 times per week they say you need to, with dry spells, using this method. I use a mulch that goes on sale every year made of 100% ponderosa pine bark. It seems to work well.

My question is, should I use the peat/sand mix on the blueberries and my azaleas and rhododendron, and if I do, will it help cool the soil and retain moisture the same way as the pine mulch? If it's going to be helpful to these plants and work about as well as the pine mulch, but I don't want to have to replace it but once a year and I don't want to water it very much more often than I do with the pine bark. I'd much rather use an acidify fertilizer to achieve the same effect with the bark. Thanks for the help.

Dalton
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2 Answers2

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I would use bark and not peat; in fact I do.

Once peat become dry it is seems impossible to wet again and when it is dry it easily blows away. It may be that peat and sand will do the job but I've acquired a strong prejudice against the stuff. Fir bark is inexpensive and easily available here in western Washington, so I have no cost incentive to even think about peat. I use medium size bark in my garden beds of numerous varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, roses, and etc. Small bark does seem to 'disappear' more readily, but may be more aesthetically pleasing in your setting.

A few inches of bark mulch does a good job of preserving soil moisture, but I think you will still be watering those new blueberries two or three times per week for much of this season - such is the way with newly planted species. It just will not turn into being every day.

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Blueberries are a bog plant. They tend to have shallow roots, and they hate drying out.

You can help with this by creating an artifical perched water table.

Dig a large wide hole about a shovel deep. If using a hybrid blueberry, about 4-5 feet across.

Line the hole with heavy duty plastic.

Fill with builders sand (NOT BEACH SAND) to about 5 inches from the top, and level it.

Cut the plastic at the sand line.

Mix up a 50-50 peat/sand mix put on top of the sand. Plant your blueberry in this.

Add bark chunk mulch.

Theory of operation: As you water, it will accumulate in the sand filled plastic lined basin. Excess water will drain over the edge where you cut the plastic. The wet layer of sand will wick into the sand peat mix. The bark chips retard evaporation. This reduces your watering frequency a bunch.

Pragmatic basis: Locally our low-bush wild blueberries are found on peaty/mossy soils on top of a saturated sand layer.

Sherwood Botsford
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