Comments on: Pine Needles Keep Soil pH Acidic For Blueberries

By: manju

manju — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:15:19 +0000

what is the name of chemical produced by pine needles that inhibit the growth of other plants?

By: Alec

Alec — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:04:00 +0000

how do i get the soil for my blue berries to stay 4.5/5.3 and wut could i buy for them to keep them that way?

By: TopVeg

TopVeg — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:16:34 +0000

Blueberries are just catching on in the UK. Thanks for a really useful post.
TopVeg

By: Kristi

Kristi — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:38:03 +0000

Here blueberries grow in the forests where the main (and sometimes only) trees are pine trees. Also moss and heather and other things like that grow there.

Kristi

By: Amber

Amber — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:51:40 +0000

Thanks very much!

Amber

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:24:26 +0000

Hi Amber,
I don’t think they’d grow that well directly under pine trees as they create too much shade. Blueberries need to grow with at least 6 – 8 hours sunlight, preferably morning to mid-afternoon.
Pine tree roots tend to become thickly matted and will choke most other plants out, and the other reason most things don’t grow under them is because they exude a chemical that inhibits seeds from germinating.
That’s not a problem if you’re just using the needles as mulch, providing you’re not using it for seed raising!
Probably best not to grow anything close to pine trees at all as there roots can spread out quite a distance and then they take over the soil.
Hope this helps,

Julie

By: Amber

Amber — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:44:13 +0000

Hi, I have a question for you. If you are using pine needles as mulch, does that mean they would grow well near or under pine trees? My yard has a very large pine tree and we are surrounded by several more. My yard is always full of pine needles and things under the pine tree don’t grow as well. I was told it was something the pine trees do to the soil.

Thanks, Amber

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:42:06 +0000

Hi Kristi,
yes, I just have one plant per pot. A 10″ pot isn’t that big – you want the roots to be able to spread out a bit and not to become root bound during the year or so that they’ll stay in it.
If I wanted to continue growing them in pots long term, the next size pot I would pot them into (early spring) would be at least a 14 or 15″ pot. You need to give them some room to grow.

warmly,
Julie

By: Kristi

Kristi — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:15:20 +0000

Hi,

I just wanted to ask – did you put one plant per one 10″ pot? Or did you plant several blueberry plants in one pot?
We have blueberries in forests here, so I might just as well as grow a few of them in my garden as well

Best wishes,
Kristi