Strawberry/Blueberry

Hello everyone, i'm new on this forum. I am NOT new on forums :p

Anyway, the questions i have are:-
I bought 4 strawberry plants. All healthy and had flowers. We did get a few strawberries off them. However, recently 2 plants have died. The leaves went all brown and the plants have died.
The other 2 produced flowers. When the flowers died away, the strawberry bud went brown and didn't produce any fruit. I have been feeding them with a tomato feed every 2 weeks. What is the problem?

Blueberry question.
I have a blueberry tree which has been thriving. Lots of green leaves and flowers.
Recently the leaves have wilted and fell off. The flowers are still there. The stalk is still green. I have been feeding it a liquid feed for acid loving plants.
Why are the leaves falling off?

Thanks.

 

I bought these in April.
So they haven't been exposed to frost.
I bought the blueberries from Suttons.
They gave tips for care on the blueberry. I have the "Elliot" blueberry.
They said to feed EVERY 10 days with a HIGH nitrogen feed till first flower.
Then from flower to first fruit to liquid feed with an ericaeous feed.
I am using Mircale grow for acid plants.

 

I have finally recieved my replacement blueberry bush from Suttons.
It has lots of leaves, nice green stems and even a few new leaves coming.
All I want is some basic advice on Blueberries.
1. Do I need to feed it with a special feed?
2. How often should I water the bush?

I realise that you do NOT need to prune a blueberry bush, unless it's weak/dead wood. Should this be done when you see dead wood?
Or should you wait till the Winter?
Also, what is the best position for a Blueberry bush? Full sun? Part shade?
I know there is alot of questions, but I don't want this one to die on me.

Thanks
Arctic.

 

Hi- a part-shade position and sheltered from the wind should better for blueberries. The soil should be acid and the drainage good.
Roots are quite delicate so it is a good idea to protect the plant with dry leaves, bark or pine needles.
Water regularely but let the soil dry slightly between watering.

 

As regards the Blueberries. When I "googled" this the consensus of opinion was,
Grow in full sun or light shade,
Only use rainwater to water them,
Water little and often,
Use a high Potash feed occasionly during the growing season. (I use Tomorite)
I was surprised by the "High Potash" bit:skp: but it's certainly worked over the last 2 yrs.
About halfway through the season they should produce long shoots from the bottom of the plant. At the end of the season reduce these to about 1/2. next year they'll produce lots of shoots and these are your flowering shoots for the season after that.:wink: Other than that I only prune the straggly bits.
I find the ones in 12" pots are far more productive than the one in a 14" pot

 

Greatly appreciated for the advice.

Could you now pass some advice for growing strawberries?
I have sent away for 12 strawberry plants.
They are due to arrive in July. Planning to have them in pots, a few in the ground.

 

Hmm! I grow them in pots but I've never planted them this late.:cnfs:
Might be handy to know which variety( Alpine etc.) you're getting:wink:

 

The variety are called "sonata" i've sent away for 12 plants. I have a subscription to gardeners world magazine and it was an offer.
I can only but try.
The last strawberry plants i tried growing all died. Managed to get 1 strawberry off them before they died. These were planted in pots in May this year.
I put them in pots with multi purpose compost. I put broken rubble at the bottom of each pot. They sat on my patio where it gets the sun from 11am right through till 8pm at night. I think they were scorched :/

 

Hmm! Not sure. Once again, May/June is very late to be planting Strawbs and expect any sort of crop. They crop in June (depending on the variety.) The ones you're planting this year are going to do nothing other than trying to survive. If they're trying to put down roots and produce fruit,they ain't gonna make it. Try watering them (not too much) and hopefully they'll survive the Summer and produce some fruit next year. They don't provide much fruit 'till the second year whatever you do.