How and When to Prune Blueberry Shrubs

Blueberry bushes can be large or small, but eventually, they all start to look a bit messy. You may also notice that their berry productivity starts to wane over time. If your blueberry bushes have been around a while, you have probably watched them grow, flower, produce fruit, and spread. But when should they be pruned? And do they even need to be pruned?

After all, blueberries grow in the wild and do just fine without any pruning, right? In a garden setting, pruning your plants can be a really good thing. For one, it helps keep them looking nice. But more importantly, some thoughtful pruning and thinning of your plants can help keep them healthy and make them even more productive.

In this article, we will look at the benefits of pruning your blueberry bushes. You’ll also learn when to do it and how to do it. Pruning blueberries is a fairly simple process. With basic tools, a little planning, and a bit of time and effort, your bushes will be in top form and ready for next season’s blueberry crop!

Step 1: Make a Plan

Before you grab the nearest tool and start chopping randomly, it’s important to have a plan. Ask yourself these questions before you start pruning.

Questions to Ask:

1. 1. What is your ultimate goal?
   2. Is the bush too tall or too wide?
   3. Is it too close to something else?
   4. Do you see a number of dead branches?
   5. Are there many runners sprouting up from the ground?
   6. Are you hoping to increase fruiting productivity?

Have the answers to these questions in mind before you start pruning. Each question may influence the way you prune your shrubs.

Your primary goal is likely to keep your plants looking nice, while allowing you to harvest more blueberries next summer. After all, they make a great landscape shrub for both visual appeal and fruit productivity. If this is your goal, it’s a good one, you should plan for regular pruning and maintenance.

Once a year, plan to use the following steps to guide you as you remove the least productive twigs. This will help your blueberry plants thrive, look great, and grow more fruit.

Step 2: Prune at the Right Time

Timing is important when pruning fruiting and flowering shrubs, including blueberries. Pruning should be done during the dormant season.

For blueberries, mid-winter is ideal, likely anytime from December through March in most climates. You probably will need to do pruning maintenance only once per year, unless you notice pests or diseases that need more immediate attention.

You will see flower buds on the dormant branches, but don’t worry about removing these. The goal of pruning is to increase the health and productivity of your bushes in the long run.

Removing the least productive canes in winter will increase production elsewhere on the bush in summer. Pruning allows you to control the growth pattern of your plants by selecting the healthiest and most robust canes that will ultimately produce the most fruit.

If you are just getting started with blueberries, you can even prune budding branches when you first set your plants in the ground. You should not expect or encourage your plant to produce fruit in the first year.

Instead, the plant needs to funnel its energy to the roots. This encourages strong root growth so it will become well-established and healthy. It may take a couple of years before your plant is fully fruiting, but with proper care and pruning, it will be worth the wait!

Step 3: Use the Right Tools

You don’t need any fancy tools to prune a blueberry bush. A set of sharp handheld pruning shears are really all you need. Since blueberries have fairly thin branches, you may not need anything larger, like loppers.

You can, of course, use loppers if you already have them; they may be handy for pruning thicker branches and reaching into larger bushes.

You certainly don’t need anything electric, you won’t need a saw, and you won’t need a ladder. Pruning a blueberry bush is pretty straightforward. Just make sure your tools are sharp and sterilized. Your goal should be to make a nice clean cut with each pruning. Ragged cuts can damage the bush, invite disease, and simply not look as nice.

Step 4: Select Branches & Prune

It is important to know which branches to remove and which to keep. Blueberries are fruiting woody shrubs and their branches are often referred to as “canes.” Your goal with regular pruning should be to maintain a strong central crown and remove the weakest, smallest, and least productive branches.

Identify the main crown of the plant. The crown will include the main canes that originate from the root mass at the center of the plant. Consider the crown of the plant to be the heart of its branching growth.

As the plant grows, the central crown area will gradually expand and your primary fruit-producing canes will become both taller, stronger, and more abundant. You will still need to prune regularly because a blueberry plant in optimal conditions will continue to grow each year and will benefit from active management.

Which Branches Should You Prune?

In each dormant cycle, you will want to selectively remove the weakest and least desirable branches. By focusing the plant’s energy to the crown, growth and nutrients will be directed to the healthiest and strongest center canes closest to the crown.

Some examples of branches that should be pruned from the blueberry shrub include:

It can be hard to remove the growth from a thriving bush, but it is important to remember that it is necessary for the health and vitality of the shrub. Once you have selected the weakest, least desirable branches of the blueberry shrub, you can then move on to the next step.

Step 5: Focus on Productivity

It may seem counterproductive to trim off so many branches, especially when you see them covered with dormant flower buds, but there’s no need to worry. If you are trying to help your blueberry bush be as productive as possible, you will need to do some fairly heavy pruning.

You can expect to regularly trim off many flower buds each time you prune, and you may wonder if that’s okay. It is! By focusing the plant’s energy on the thickest and most robust canes, your plant will produce both larger berries and larger clusters of berries.