Blueberry Problem

[YumYum]

Plant #1, #3: Unknown variety but has been grown here for a long time. Received as what I would call rooted cuttings from neighbor on Feb 2022 and then stuck in my soil and watered to grow.
Plant #2, #4: Blue Ray and Blue Crop varieties. Bought as bareroot from Lowes March 2021. Nice and green and doing well with little berries.


Plants 2 and 4 are doing great as you can see here. They did get fertilized earlier this year when they started budding out because they were already established. I do see a bit of red edge on a leaf.




Plants 1 and 3 are pale with some chlorosis and appear to have a slight red color along the edges of the leaves. They didn't get any fertilizer because they hadn't established themselves yet and leafed out at that time.



I tested the soil with two different home kits, which aren't the most accurate things but gives a general ideal. One says pH 5.5 and the other says 6.2 so I know my pH is a bit high. There are no real numbers with the nutrient test part just low, med, high which reads N medium, P low, K medium so my potassium is a bit low.

Why are the other plants doing good and the other two are not? What is wrong with them? Do different varieties require different pH levels or more tolerant of it?
I have sulfur and azalea bush fertilizer.

 

[mac1911]

Maybe time for a soil test ?
My garden was a mess as far as PH goes.
Along with nutrient issues.
The weather has been less than normal here in SE Massachusetts. My blue berries are growing “strange” I do not know the varieties but the 3 plants are different and showing much different growing traits between them this year ?
This is what they looked like a few weeks ago.

 

[YumYum]

It could use a real soil test, that would help. I gave them some azalea bush fertilizer and water with vinegar to lower the waters pH (4.5) so maybe it would at least maybe help nutrient uptake. I'll see if that helps to green them up a bit. What is puzzling me is why two look great and two do not.

I did put sulfur down last fall but I didn't know it wont break down and lower the soils pH at soil temps below 60F so the sulfur has just been sitting there overwinter possibly turning into hydrogen sulfide. It is just now getting to be soil temps above 60F so I am afraid to put any more sulfur down because I'm not sure if what I put down last fall is still going to acidify the soil at this point or convert to something else.

 

[YumYum]

I think the problem is an iron deficiency from the pH being too high. I'm still puzzled why the other 2 bushes look good.

Scratching around in the soil I noticed that maybe half of the sulfur is still laying there. It is the coated type of elemental sulfur so I guess I'll have to manage until it works on the soils pH which will probably be the end of summer at this rate. I did the water the whole bed with a stronger solution of vinegar water.

I assume even if the pH is corrected the affected leaves will still look the same as iron is an immobile nutrient. Only the new growth will show it?

 

[YumYum]

Evidently the pH was a little too high. I've watered with vinegar water and added more sulfur and the leaves shown greened up a good deal. The #3 twig has sprouted some new leaves that look a bit whitish though. I guess I'll hit it with some nitrogen.

 

[mac1911]

My blue berries went through some strange things
1st it took for ever for them to leaf out. Then the leaf tips all got red, then a bit of yellowing with green veins ….all the will having more buds than every.
Then about 1/3 through may they all just greened up and the fruits really started filling out.
First flush from 1 bush yum tum