Posted by Higgs Boson on June 4, 2011, 8:23 pm
Is it necessary?
I finally -- after waiting literally decades! -- got a pair of
blueberry bushes that had been adapted to need much less winter chill,
so can be grown in So. Calif coastal.
The "O'Neal" bush is loaded with big fat delicious blueberries
Its companion, "Sunshine", is also loaded -- but with tiny, miserable-
looking berries that are drying up by the day.
I am returning it to the nursery.
Questions:
1. Is "cross-fertilization" necesssary? Some of the sites I visited
said yes; others said (AFAIK) that O'Neal was self-pollinating but
would be better with cross.
2. If so, why can't it be between same varieties, rather than across
varieties?
I am dizzy trying to evaluate the many varieties listed on the sites I
visited. My #1,2,3, and so on requirement is FLAVOR. Prefer more
tangy than mild.
Your input appreciated -- keeping in mind this is So. Calif. Coastal.
TIA
HB
Posted by Brooklyn1 on June 4, 2011, 9:13 pm
On Sat, 4 Jun 2011 17:23:46 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
>Is it necessary?
>I finally -- after waiting literally decades! -- got a pair of
>blueberry bushes that had been adapted to need much less winter chill,
>so can be grown in So. Calif coastal.
>The "O'Neal" bush is loaded with big fat delicious blueberries
>Its companion, "Sunshine", is also loaded -- but with tiny, miserable-
>looking berries that are drying up by the day.
>I am returning it to the nursery.
>Questions:
>1. Is "cross-fertilization" necesssary? Some of the sites I visited
>said yes; others said (AFAIK) that O'Neal was self-pollinating but
>would be better with cross.
>2. If so, why can't it be between same varieties, rather than across
>varieties?
>I am dizzy trying to evaluate the many varieties listed on the sites I
>visited. My #1,2,3, and so on requirement is FLAVOR. Prefer more
>tangy than mild.
>Your input appreciated -- keeping in mind this is So. Calif. Coastal.
It's called cross-pollenation. Although blueberries are self-fertile,
you will get larger berries and more of them if you have two different
cultivars to cross pollinate. And some varieties do need a separate
pollenator (rabbit eye). There are early, mid-season, and late
cultivars... make sure the pollenators you choose flower at the same
time. I suggest buying your plants from a reliable local nursery that
grows their own.
http://gardening.about.com/od/berries/a/Blueberries.htm
Posted by Stewart Robert Hinsley on June 6, 2011, 11:54 am
In message
>Is it necessary?
>I finally -- after waiting literally decades! -- got a pair of
>blueberry bushes that had been adapted to need much less winter chill,
>so can be grown in So. Calif coastal.
>The "O'Neal" bush is loaded with big fat delicious blueberries
>Its companion, "Sunshine", is also loaded -- but with tiny, miserable-
>looking berries that are drying up by the day.
>I am returning it to the nursery.
>Questions:
>1. Is "cross-fertilization" necesssary? Some of the sites I visited
>said yes; others said (AFAIK) that O'Neal was self-pollinating but
>would be better with cross.
>2. If so, why can't it be between same varieties, rather than across
>varieties?
One means used by plants to avoid self-fertilisation is
self-incompatibility alleles, where the population contains lots of
different alleles at the locus, and an individual can't be fertilised by
pollen from a plant (such as itself) with the same allele.
In the case of vegetatively propagated varieties of such plants all
individuals of the variety have the same self-incompatibility allele,
and you need a different variety for fertilisation.
>I am dizzy trying to evaluate the many varieties listed on the sites I
>visited. My #1,2,3, and so on requirement is FLAVOR. Prefer more
>tangy than mild.
>Your input appreciated -- keeping in mind this is So. Calif. Coastal.
>TIA
>HB
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
Posted by Higgs Boson on June 6, 2011, 6:34 pm
wrote:
> In message
> >Is it necessary?
> >I finally -- after waiting literally decades! -- got a pair of
> >blueberry bushes that had been adapted to need much less winter chill,
> >so can be grown in So. Calif coastal.
> >The "O'Neal" bush is loaded with big fat delicious blueberries
> >Its companion, "Sunshine", is also loaded -- but with tiny, miserable-
> >looking berries that are drying up by the day.
> >I am returning it to the nursery.
> >Questions:
> >1. Is "cross-fertilization" necesssary? Some of the sites I visited
> >said yes; others said (AFAIK) that O'Neal was self-pollinating but
> >would be better with cross.
> >2. If so, why can't it be between same varieties, rather than across
> >varieties?
> One means used by plants to avoid self-fertilisation is
> self-incompatibility alleles, where the population contains lots of
> different alleles at the locus, and an individual can't be fertilised by
> pollen from a plant (such as itself) with the same allele.
> In the case of vegetatively propagated varieties of such plants all
> individuals of the variety have the same self-incompatibility allele,
> and you need a different variety for fertilisation.
> REALLY interesting; thank you very much!
HB
[...]
> --
> Stewart Robert Hinsley
XML site map
>I finally -- after waiting literally decades! -- got a pair of
>blueberry bushes that had been adapted to need much less winter chill,
>so can be grown in So. Calif coastal.
>The "O'Neal" bush is loaded with big fat delicious blueberries
>Its companion, "Sunshine", is also loaded -- but with tiny, miserable-
>looking berries that are drying up by the day.
>I am returning it to the nursery.
>Questions:
>1. Is "cross-fertilization" necesssary? Some of the sites I visited
>said yes; others said (AFAIK) that O'Neal was self-pollinating but
>would be better with cross.
>2. If so, why can't it be between same varieties, rather than across
>varieties?
>I am dizzy trying to evaluate the many varieties listed on the sites I
>visited. My #1,2,3, and so on requirement is FLAVOR. Prefer more
>tangy than mild.
>Your input appreciated -- keeping in mind this is So. Calif. Coastal.