Northland blueberry has made it through seven winters planted in a half whiskey barrel in zone 5b. The other two varieties I planted that first year died over the first and second winter because they weren't cold hardy enough...lesson learned. Rule of thumb, go AT LEAST two zones colder to overwinter above ground. Their replacements (Elliot & Bluecrop) were sunken in the ground. Northland is by far the best producer of the three. They are all planted in a homemade container mix of 5 parts pine bark, 1 part perlite, 1 part peat, with added gypsum. Once in a while I give them some Miracid, but am not very regular about it. Frankly, I am kind of surprised they are still alive and fruiting. All three are much smaller than usual... probably from my lack of care or from being in containers. Our native soil is heavy with a clay base and alkaline, so I didn't even try growing them in the ground. The fall color on Northland and Bluecrop is amazing. If my soil was right I would plant them everywhere.

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