Annual pruning of blueberry bushes helps manage bush height and shape. It also prevents over-cropping, increases berry size, and removes dead, diseased, or insect-infected wood. Here's how to prune blueberry bushes for the best possible crop, year after year.
Most blueberry bush pruning is done during the dormant (late winter) season after the leaves have fallen. Old canes can be up to two inches in diameter, so a pair of long-handled loppers capable of cutting large stems is helpful. The smaller pruners will work for smaller canes and shaping.
These are the big and small pruners I used for the job:
The best time for blueberry pruning is winter, typically November - March depending on where you live. I didn't get to mine until February, which was probably a little late for our particular region. But I'm still before blooming season, so I'm calling it good.
Here's our patch of six blueberry bushes in two beds. The smaller ones were pruned by the previous homeowner, but the one on the right was not pruned for some reason, for many years.
Here's how to prune blueberry bushes, in 4 basic hand-pruning steps:
Step 1: Pruning of blueberry plants starts at the bottom, not the top. First, find the crown - this is where the largest concentration of canes comes out of the ground. Think about a circle 12-18 inches in diameter around the crown, or base of the plant, and remove any and all shoots of any age that have come up from the ground outside the circle. They will send new shoots up randomly all over, so pull them all out!
Step 2: Next, remove canes that sit at a low angle or hang close to the ground. These canes and branches that are growing at ground level may get pulled to the ground with the weight of the new fruit, resulting in more pests and rotting berries.
Step 3: After that, we're going to go after what's called the crossovers. This is vegetative growth that cuts at an angle through or into the middle of the bush. Removing these helps with air circulation, which is the next step we're going to address. What you should have left is a 12-18" diameter bush of upright canes. Here's what some crazy crossovers can look like:
Step 4: Now, you need to open up the center for airflow, reduce crowding, and eliminate older canes. When choosing the oldest canes to remove, look for the thicker, larger ones that are grayish in color and are often covered with a fuzzy growth of lichens. Make cuts of these large branches close to the ground, at a 45 degree angle to reduce the possibility of disease. Here's what those lichen covered branches will look like:
When you cut some of these older canes out, you will inevitably be removing some flower buds or fruit buds. They may be on your plant when you're doing winter pruning. You're going to cut some of these off -its ok! Don't be tempted to leave them.
You'll remove about a third of the buds you see. Remember, if the plant is overloaded with production, it will stress it out, and it will produce less in future years. So while you feel like you're losing fruit, you're actually increasing production for the following year - resulting in larger berries and a good crop.
As a blueberry cane ages, it branches over and over with new growth. This results in smaller and smaller diameter lateral twigs. This ends up leaving you with lots of unproductive shoots with a few tiny berries.
If you thin the canes by moving clumps of twiggy growth and brushy looking matchstick canes, you can help eliminate this. You should also cut back any whips or canes that are too tall - if you can't reach it, you can't harvest it.
Here's what our biggest bush (Which was way overdue for a pruning!) looked like before I worked on it, and after:
I did go back and get some of those longer whip-looking branches that were still in there, as well as some of the crossovers from the left. There are more older branches that need to be removed, but I didn't want to take down the whole plant, so we will keep working on this one over the next few seasons.
Planting new blueberry bushes
If you're planting new young bushes, you'll want to plant these in late winter, while they are fully in their dormant period and leafless. For my area, this is typically late winter/early spring, sometime between December to February. Yours may be different depending on where you live. For us, by early March, the flowers are already blooming. Be sure to plant in acidic soil as berries are acid loving plants!
If you're not familiar with the different varieties of blueberry bushes, there are 5 common varities in the US: lowbush, northern highbush, southern highbush, rabbiteye, and half-high. You can learn more about these blueberry varieties here.
If you're not sure if you can grow blueberries where you are, the likely answer is yes! You can check this site to see where blueberries grow best.
First Year: In the first year, you'll strip off flower buds by hand. In subsequent years, you'll need to continue to thin flower buds to prevent overcropping. You'll also cut back ½ to ⅔ of the new plant at the time of planting. The goal in the first year is to avoid fruit production entirely. Painful, I know! But you want to get the plant established by the roots first. You'll be rewarded with more berry production in the future.
Second Year: In the second year of growth, you'll want to remove low-lying and weak shoots, as well as crossovers. Keep only the healthiest looking new canes. You may be able to allow them to produce a little bit this year, depending on how much the plant grew over the last 12 months. The goal right now is still to continue to establish the young plant and encourage more growth for the following season.
Third Year: By this time, the plant should be well established and have grown enough in the last year to be allowed to produce a crop in the third year. Routine pruning should still remove 40-50%(!) of the flower buds. You'll have plenty of new wood and it's a good idea to get in the habit of removing the older growth and excessive buds at the same time of year each year.
Blueberry bushes by the seasons
Late Winter
This is when your planting of young blueberry bushes and pruning and removal of dead wood should happen. If you have established plants, this is when you make your large cuts at the base of the bush and thin out the older canes to make room for the younger canes for the next year. Think of this as "renewal pruning," or renewing the plants for the coming year.
Late Spring
Leaf buds should be well established and soil ph should be between 4.0 and 5.0. This can be done with an acidic or berry fertilizer for the most productive plants and the best crop load. You will also want to mulch with wood chips, pine needles, or something else to keep the weeds out and the moisture in.
Late Summer
Berry production is likely tapering off, and the largest berries are gone. The full sun of summer will encourage growth and the plants will start sending up their young canes and their random shoots as you harvest the last of your berries.
Late Fall
I am not a patient person, but this is the time to sit back and do....nothing with your blueberries. You will need to prune, fertilize, mulch, practice flower bud removal and how to make flush cuts. But in the fall, you're mostly just waiting. The berries are done for the season but the plants aren't dormant yet. You likely had a good harvest if you followed the steps above, and now you get to take a break! Don't prune blueberries in the fall, as they are still active. Wait until the weather turns and all the leaves fall off the bushes before you go making your cuts - this will typically bring you back to late winter!
Conclusion
Blueberries are a game of patience early on. In their first few years of growth, you'll spend a lot of time waiting, pruning, and waiting some more. But once you get your plants established, if you follow a regular, annual pruning schedule, you'll be rewarded with a full berry harvest year after year.
And once you pick all those beautiful delicious berries, be sure to check out my post on how long blueberries last to get all the storage tips and tricks, then maybe make some grain-free blueberry muffins or blueberry donuts!
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