I have grown blueberries, Vaccinium sp., in containers for several years.  I lost one plant and had to replace it.  I found ‘Top Hat' a variety that is dwarf, which is perfect for containers or in a small garden.  It's also bred to better tolerate growing in Southern areas with less wind chill needed for berries.  The information that came with the plant said it was good in USDA 3-8.  I happen to live in USDA Zone 9, but I have a spot partially beneath a floribunda rose where blueberries in containers have done well.

‘Top Hat' seemed to like his new home and started to produce lovely berries that were larger than the other varieties I have grown.  In June I noticed from a distance that the shrub looked much fuller than before.  When I got closer, I saw there was a totally different plant growing behind the blueberry.  It was very healthy and vigorous with beautiful leaves.  I tried a plant ID app on my phone that told me it was a fig.  But this plant's leaves were much thinner than a fig.  So, I sent a picture to my UCCE Master Gardener Coordinator, Jennifer Baumbach.  She suspected the plant was a type of Mulberry, possibly White Mulberry, Morus alba.

I was torn, both plants looked so happy and healthy.  But I knew the blueberry shrub would need all that space in the container.  It was too small to share.  Besides space, the mulberry would be competing for water and nutrients. My blueberry needs water to make those luscious berries.  The mulberry can make berries too but in the form of a mulberry tree that can grow to be 30-50 tall.  So that just wasn't a possibility in my small yard.

So, I carefully separated out the newcomer and put it in the green waste bin.  I remembered that one definition of a weed was a plant growing where you didn't want it to grow.  This was certainly the case here, but I still found it difficult to get rid of a healthy plant.  At least it will be composted to return its nutrients back to the earth. I'm still unclear as to where the mulberry plant came from.  Perhaps it was already present in the original pot from the nursery, or it could have been a seed donated by a passing bird.

‘Top Hat' has continued to do well if I keep him watered.  That has been challenging through some of our heat waves.  He seems to have spread out more across his pot, so I think I did the right thing.