Did your blueberry harvest hit the sweet spot this year? I’m sure you’re enjoying the most delicious and healthy muffins and smoothies. That makes two of us!
Do you want the same success next season and in the long run? Well, it’s as easy as pie with this tried-and-true gardening technique: pruning.
To save you the trouble of searching for the best technique, I’ll show you exactly when and how to do it for the best yield you could ever imagine!
The Golden Rule: Do Not Prune Too Early!
The one thing all gardeners should know about pruning is that if you don’t time it right, all the effort goes to waste.
The same applies to your blueberry bushes. You should wait until they enter dormancy, which for these fruiting plants is mostly in December and lasts until March.
But be careful because, in some zones, it could happen earlier.
If you’re unsure if it’s the right time to prune your blueberry bushes, simply wait until they shed all their leaves. But make sure you prune before the flower buds open.
If Your Blueberries Are Still Young, This Is How You Prune Them
All novice blueberry growers should know that this pruning technique mainly depends on the age of your bush.
If your blueberry bushes are still young, the main goal of pruning is to enhance root growth.
First, select the canes you want to prune and cut each back by approximately a third. Now remove all the flower buds on your blueberry bush to help the plant save energy for root development.
Each bush will have shoots in its crown (aka whips) so you must cut off the branches that form on them.
If your blueberry bush doesn’t reach 3 feet in the second year, you can repeat the same pruning process.
On the other hand, if the bush is over 3 feet, you’ll need to leave a few flower buds on the plant.
Now you’ll need to do some math. I always leave about 30 flower buds on the bush; more will cause the plant to topple over and that’s the last thing you want.
The Perfect Pruning Technique For 3 to 5-Year-Old Blueberry Bushes
Congrats! Your blueberries are more than 3 years old which means you did a pretty good job out there.
Now your main goal is to encourage healthier growth. And you can easily achieve this by removing the lateral shoots.
If you haven’t heard of these, let me break it down. Last year’s wood produces horizontal branches and you should get rid of any that are diseased, discolored, or too close to the ground.
For Well-Established Blueberries, Do This
Five to seven after planting your blueberries, you can expect them to be fully established and all grown up.
What to do in this growth stage? Thinning the old canes should be your priority for mature blueberries.
This way, you’ll encourage the bush to produce more new canes and prevent overcrowding. It’s super important because you want the light to reach all parts of the bush.
I always start by selecting and cutting off all the damaged, diseased, and crossing growth.
Then it’s time to check if there are any old blueberry canes at the base that don’t bear fruits anymore. Get rid of them along with the canes that’ll produce fruits that’ll be touching the ground when mature.
Now take a look at the crown and remove two or three of the oldest canes that don’t fruit as they should.
All the healthy and robust canes should be left on your blueberry bush because they’ll be the ones responsible for an amazing harvest next year.
Can You Skip Pruning Your Blueberry Bushes?
And the moment many of you were looking forward to… or just the ones who were thinking of skipping this chore.
Sorry to disappoint you, but you can’t really leave your blueberry bushes to grow on their own.
In theory, you could, but you would end up with too much (or too little) new growth and not enough berries to pick. So, don’t skip pruning!
By pruning the old, damaged, diseased, or broken branches, you encourage your blueberry bushes to display new growth and produce more juicy berries.
After pruning, air circulation within the bush will be way better which means there will be fewer disease and pest issues.
Additionally, sun rays will be able to reach all blueberry bush parts, and in return they’ll reward you with lush growth and high yield.
If you want to make the most of your blueberry bushes, the easiest way is to give them a good prune. Armed with the right info, you’re set to hit the harvest jackpot!