“All blueberry types can be long-lived, bearing fruit for more than 50 years” from https://extension.oregonstate.edu/pub/ec-1304
the 40+ year old plants I’m familiar with have eventually needed renewal because they weren’t pruned regularly… see the “renovation” section in the pub. they come back fine though
Thank you for the info. That is a great link.
Blueberries can live a very long time in an optimal climate. The trick is to only allow it to fruit from 2nd and 3rd leaf growth. After that, you prune it at ground level and let new growth take over. If you keep them disease-free and well-fed, they can remain productive for a long time.
The idea that a species has a set age limit is generally mistaken in my experience with fruit plants, including blueberries. I was working in a very old stand of the plants with a range of varieties, and the less vigorous ones are those that are about on their way out, which could be why they are less vigorous, except for the fact that the plants never had canes that reached anywhere near the diameter of the more vigorous plants.
This isn’t to say it’s proof of the variability I speak of, but certainly I’ve seen it with apples and peaches. There seems to be a huge range in potential longevity affected by variety, but even same types are uneven in time to senescence. With peaches, it seems to be about the ability to generate new wood from any part of the tree, including through thick bark of the oldest wood. Red Haven is a variety that does this. It seems like the longer lived blueberries are more inclined to do the same, although blueberries are often maintained by the growth of brand new canes from the ground level. Removing a couple of the oldest canes every year allows the young ones to get enough sun to grow and replace aging ones.
One thing the literature never mentions is that blueberries can get the nutrients they need without homogenously acidic soil, as long as they have roots in a layer of soil that provides what they need. Mulched plants will send roots right up to the surface and gather the nutrients where they can find them, so even surface applied sulfur can do the job as long as the soil is moist enough below the mulch for roots to grow. Mike Phillips gave me credit for that observation in one of his books (my son found it on Google). He drew it from an article I wrote for NAFEX years ago when I observed it from my own plants. Not exactly researched science but Carl Whitcomb discovered the same thing from acid-loving pin-oaks and surface apps of sulfur. His methods did use a control.
I use Holly tone fertilizer for my blueberries in pots. Works great
Espoma Organic Holly-Tone 4-3-4 Evergreen & Azalea Plant Food; 4 lb. Bag; The Original & Best Organic Fertilizer for All Acid Loving Plants Including Azaleas, Rhododendrons & Hydrangeas. Pack of 2 https://a.co/d/a5TZpTQ
My local TSC store has this… and that is what i have been using. I put it down early spring as buds are swelling… then one more application when fruiting is done.
I have 3 months of growing season left after they stop fruiting… and get some late summer and fall growth.
Hollytone is a good one. Too expensive though if you have more to apply it to than just one bag can cover.
Elemental sulphur, a small amount or fertilizer (or some time-relese pellets), and a thin layer of mulch gets the job done.
Could just be an observation, but I’ve noticed better results using cypress mulch than bark mulch. Not sure the reason. (Possibly a moisture issue).
So after reading the Oregon beavers pruning lesson, I am doing it all wrong. The only pruning I have done in the 17 years I lived here on my planted 1980 blueberry patch is take cuttings to root. Which I have probably given away 1000 in the last 10 years. My wife always says don’t prune them because they fruit awesome. She is afraid they would not fruit if I hacked them down.
My question, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it; or should I do a major reclamation prune on my huge old bushes?
They are laden with more fruit than all my neighbors or my kids (and many “berry” play dates) or the birds can finish off. There is still a layer of berry mulch each fall after my freezer is full. It is 8 bushes sprawling in about 40square feet. All in the floodplain of my creek. Regular flood/silt pattern all winter long timed by the rain storms.
The way I learned by reading and watching videos,is about year five,to start pruning.
First,cut any crossing branches and then remove two to three of the oldest canes,that are getting twiggy growth.This will promote new ones to come out from the crown.There should be a mixture of old and new.
