Each year I go about pruning my blueberries with uncertainty as to the best way and time to do it. I think we could all learn from each other as to how to improve our methods. Sometimes I prune during dormancy and sometime I do the task after the bush finishes fruiting. Young plants might need an entirely different procedure than mature plants. Any methods and comments are welcome.
Last year (2016) one of my Tifblue (RE) plants fruited heavy with several new shoots generated from the base and I didn’t prune it. This year (2017) it didn’t have a single fruit bud that I could see so not pruning obviously wasn’t the proper method. On a side note it is now my 2nd grafted over to SHB variety. My thought was if I’m not going to get any berries this year the timing was good for the conversion.
I had that happen too. Didn’t know blueberries would to the biennial thing. I have other bushes so I didn’t bother to take any action. Next year if it crops heavily I will try removing some.
As far as pruning is concerned, I used to think it was all about good structure, number of trunks (in the case of berries) and sun getting into the tree/fruit, etc. Now, for my yard, it is mostly about what form I can protect. I’ll do the ‘remove the older trunks’ thing when the time comes (mine are not that old), but I’ve been pinching my shoots back some to keep the height down so I can suspend a net over them. The eastern rain forrests support a LOT of wildlife esp birds. I see nests on the ground this time of year. There are some in my garage. That’s just the way it is here. Arlie’s bush would be stripped - even with a net. I’d rather have my g-kids strip them
I probably take 75% off my potted SHB after harvest, several weeks ago. Then during summer tip/prune to hold the size down. They already have a foot or more of new growth. In winter take out some of the small wood esp that down low. Then maybe remove some fruiting wood, tip the canes, if the crop load looks to be too heavy. Yikes, that’s a lot of pruning.
Thanks. I was hoping to get some advice for my Millenia SHB. I have about one more picking on it and then I will remove some of the wood. It is giving me a decent crop each year but I think it has the potential for more berries.
BIRDS!!!
I was out this morning cobbling together a frame to net my elderberries. They too are borne up on the canopy so the net cannot lay on the canopy or the birds can eat them through the netting.
For highbush types, stems typically remain productive for ~4 years so I dormant prune out all stems older than that. Then I thin out the one year stems to prevent crowding ( looking for 3-4 stems of each year, 12-16 total). Then I shorten the one year stems a bit to prevent drooping and remove any twiggy growth. Makes for good, productive shrubs that stay contained in size as well.
Low bush types I cut to the ground every three years (commercial growers often burn instead of pruning)
I don’t have rabbit eye types so can’t weigh in on those.
Glad to see an interest in adding your techniques. I have already learned a lot from the postings. Over a period of time this can be a great go to topic for answers about blueberry pruning. If your already using one of these that are already listed don’t hesitate to add it again because some people might be looking for the most popular method.
Blueberries can be very variable in pruning requirements. I’ve seen a wild blueberry with a shoot that had to be over 10 years old, based on it’s size, loaded with berries.
I have a young Bushel and Berry Peach Sorbet that is container grown. It’s put on pretty good vertical growth this summer. It’s only in it’s second year and produced literally 2 berries this spring as a very small bush.
Knowing that blueberries fruit on growth tips, I am thinking I should top these branches to try to get several lateral buds to grow to increase the fruiting wood.
Good idea or not?
So it’s mid August. My average first freeze date is between mid November and the first week of December so I have plenty of growing time left.
I like to prune to growing lateral and that lateral will become the growing point. Eventually branches become unproductive and should be removed.
If you prune to strong new growth a branch can be stimulated to remain productive. Pruning helps stimulate new growth and branching. Some cultivars are very good at branching and others are slow to branch without a lot of pruning.
