1 gal. Eclipse Thornless Blackberry Plants – Live Fruiting Berry Bushes, 2-Pack

It depends on the berry. Blueberries set some fruit alone and bear more, bigger berries with a second variety that blooms at the same time. A second plant of the same variety doesn't help. Blackberries, Marionberries, Loganberries and Boysenberries set fruit with their own pollen, so one plant is enough. Honeyberries need a second, compatible variety, or you'll get little or no fruit.

Blueberries need strongly acidic soil, about pH 4.5 to 5.5. Test your soil before planting, and if the pH is above 5, mix elemental sulfur into the top 4 inches about three months ahead, since sulfur works slowly. Honeyberries don't need acidic soil and grow even in soil close to pH 8.

Blackberries give a small crop the summer after you plant them and a full crop by the third year. Blueberries give a small first crop in the second or third year. Pick off their flowers for the first year or two, because a young plant that sets fruit grows far less. Pick honeyberries 5 to 10 days after they first turn blue.

Yes. Trailing types such as Marion, Logan and Boysen have long canes that can't hold themselves up, and semi-erect types need a trellis too. For trailing types, set posts about 6 feet tall with two wires, one near the top and one at about 4½ feet.

After harvest, cut the canes that fruited this summer down to the base, since they die after fruiting anyway. Then tie the new canes that grew this year to the trellis. Those new canes carry next summer's berries.

Yes. Blueberries are one of the few fruits that do well in pots. A mature plant needs a container at least 24 inches deep and 24 to 30 inches wide, filled with half potting soil and half peat moss. Keep the mix evenly moist, and shelter the pot from winter wind. A plant in a pot needs more care, including the nutrients it would otherwise pull from the ground. Every few years, prune the roots and change the soil, or move it up a pot size. It will fruit, but not as much as a blueberry in the ground.

It's the size of the nursery pot the plant ships in, not the plant's height. A 1-gallon plant ships in a 1-gallon pot. The plant itself varies by variety and by season.

A few days in a dark box is stressful for a leafy plant, and some yellow or dropped leaves are common. Water it if the soil is dry, give it a few days in bright shade, then move it into more sun over a week or two. New leaves usually follow. If it looks damaged or unhealthy beyond a few leaves, contact us that day with photos.

Plant when the ground isn't frozen, and not during a heat wave. Loosen any roots circling the root ball, and set the top of the root ball level with the ground or slightly above it. Water it in well.

Check the soil every few days for the first few months. A new plant's root ball dries out faster than the ground around it, so feel the soil at the root ball itself, not only the surface. Water when it's dry, and let it drain.