Blueberry plant not doing so well

[droidus]

I bought a blueberry plant and raspberry plant from Walmart. The blueberry plant does not look well at all, and my raspberry plant shows possible signs of issue. What is going on with the blueberry one? Is there any way to fix it? Is it too late? How can I prevent it in the future?
Is the same thing going to happen to the raspberry one? If so, can I prevent it? What can I do to help it out as well?

 

[Marck]

That Blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) seems to be a very small cutting or eedling that may be dying from a damping-off fungus. I'm surprised such a small plant was sold at a retail store. Return it and see if you can get a refund.

In the photo, your raspberry (Rubus idaeus or similar) seems healthy, but what issue have you noticed?

I see you grow under artificial lights. Do you measure the light with a light meter? Doublecheck that plants are getting enough light. Growing a fruit crop will generally require higher light levels that for just vegetative growth.

 

[droidus]

OK, will attempt to return and get a new one. Hopefully it is better.
How can I prevent this in the future?
I need to buy a light meter I guess. Any recommendations?
I am using these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0814L4XPL?psc=1. I now have 3 going across each row.

 

[Marck]

Overall, both Raspberries (Rubus idaeus) and Blueberries (Vaccinium sp.) will be challenging to grow indoors under lights. These are temperate plants that expect to experience seasonal and diurnal changes in ways that are difficult to simulate indoors.
Still, give it a try, but consider this as experimental.

 

[droidus]

Hey Marck,
Totally understand. Seems I lost my blueberry, as it is wilted. Now my raspberry plant is starting to look funny. I know what you said about growing it indoors. But just wondering if there's something that I am/am not doing that is obvious, or that I can help it to recover? I got it from the same place, but this one had significantly been bigger at the time of purchase than the blueberry plant.
Thanks!

 

[Marck]

Your raspberry, doesn't look particularly unhealthy, but it's hard to even judge that with the purple lighting.
Whether the plant will grow large enough to flower and fruit under these conditions is another matter. Time will tell.
That yellowing leaf with green veins might indicate a nutrient deficiency. How have you been fertilizing the plant?

 

[droidus]

I did once; I believe I gave it two spikes of this: Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Spikes. Still trying to figure out what everything needs to be fertilized with. :/

 

[Marck]

The same elemental nutrients are required by all plants. and their are many products and protocols for fertilizing plants.

If you were growing only a few kinds of plants you might try to develop separate fertilizer protocols optimized for those plants and their growing conditions.

I grow literally over a thousand kinds of plants. Most of my container plants get fertilized once a month with a complete, liquid fertilizer, and this gives good results. There are a few plants that do have exceptional nutritional requirements, but not as many as some fertilizer salesmen might have you believe.

 

[droidus]

What do you suggest? I can list what I am growing? There are only a few things I am growing. Would that help?
Would what I am using, be beneficial at all?

 

[Marck]

As I said, there are many ways to fertilize. I told you what I do, and it is a system that is simple and adaptable to a wide variety of plants and growing conditions. Start by fertilizing once a month with a complete, liquid fertilizer. Miracle-gro is a well-known brand but there are many other similar products. Avoid advertised hype, and instead read textbooks and articles about plant nutrition.
As you become more experienced, you may wish to modify or change the system. For example, I usually fertilize at less than full-strength and find that more than sufficient. Some people fertilize at much higher levels, especially if the are trying to push a crop of some kind. However, more is not always better.

Whichever method you choose needs to be one you are willing and able to continue with. A complex fertilizing system, with a different formulae and frequency for every plant, is usually too much trouble to maintain long-term.

 

[droidus]

What is the difference between the food stakes and liquid? The only difference I am aware of is that the liquid gets into the root system faster.

 

[Marck]

Yes, liquid is faster-acting and can be more evenly distributed through the soil.
If you find stakes more convenient, just continue as you wish.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I have taken to the vegetable version of miracle grow when I need it because it has less nitrogen. I am usually using it around seedlings or garden plants as a booster to supplement slower acting organic fertilizers.

 

[GardenOfEnglandGardener]

If you plan to try again with a blueberry plant, there was one suggestion I read regarding the use spent coffee grounds with the blueberry plant. Blueberry plants like very acidic soil, so anything that could make the soil more acidic would help. When humans were first trying to domesticate the blueberry plant, they were making the "mistake" of using their best soils on the blueberry plants, without much success, as they remind us here in this article.

I find that blueberry plants (of which there are three in our garden, including one pink blueberry) are not very fussy at all. Obviously, if they are given a due care and attention it will yield better results - even if they can do just fine with minimal attention - but even last year when arguably they did not receive the best of treatments, they still gave a decent crop. I suppose the main thing, as with other fruit bearing shrubs, is to keep the plant "fresh", is making sure to cut off any dead bits routinely, and making sure the air can circulate nicely between the branches by removing the older less productive older branches to make space for new growth.

If memory serves, as an example, for blackcurrants it was suggested all growth older than about three years needed cutting off. I ought look into blueberries in more detail in this regard. Blackcurrants are seemingly the odd one out when it comes to currants.

 

[droidus]

If you plan to try again with a blueberry plant, there was one suggestion I read regarding the use spent coffee grounds with the blueberry plant. Blueberry plants like very acidic soil, so anything that could make the soil more acidic would help. When humans were first trying to domesticate the blueberry plant, they were making the "mistake" of using their best soils on the blueberry plants, without much success, as they remind us here in this article.

I find that blueberry plants (of which there are three in our garden, including one pink blueberry) are not very fussy at all. Obviously, if they are given a due care and attention it will yield better results - even if they can do just fine with minimal attention - but even last year when arguably they did not receive the best of treatments, they still gave a decent crop. I suppose the main thing, as with other fruit bearing shrubs, is to keep the plant "fresh", is making sure to cut off any dead bits routinely, and making sure the air can circulate nicely between the branches by removing the older less productive older branches to make space for new growth.

If memory serves, as an example, for blackcurrants it was suggested all growth older than about three years needed cutting off. I ought look into blueberries in more detail in this regard. Blackcurrants are seemingly the odd one out when it comes to currants.

Does the same advice apply to the raspberry plant?
As for the coffee grounds, how do you recommend I apply it? Mix it in? How do I continue to give it those same acidic nutrients later on then?