For backyard blueberry growers, winter means it’s time to break out the pruning shears and folding saw. Pruning blueberries is a task best performed yearly, when the plants are dormant. Closely tied to crop production, plant health, and fruit quality, pruning too aggressively – or not aggressively enough – impacts your blueberry’s performance.
Reasons for pruning blueberries
Pruning blueberries is an essential winter chore for several reasons.
- Proper pruning maintains an open growth habit, which improves air circulation, opens the center of the plant to sunlight, and reduces disease.
- Annual pruning maintains productivity by encouraging the growth of new fruit-producing stems.
- Pruning removes dead or damaged branches.
- Pruning increases fruit quality because the shrub is able to put more energy into producing the fruit, not more leaves.
The goal of good blueberry pruning is to remove enough old growth to encourage the production of new. And to do so without negatively impacting the berry production for the coming season.
When to prune blueberries
As with most other fruit-producing trees and shrubs, blueberry pruning takes place in mid to late winter. It’s easy to see the structure of the plant more clearly then and discern which branches are to be removed. In winter, the old branches look very different from the new in color and texture (see photos below). Plus, dormant-season pruning causes the plant less stress. The bush is not in an active state of growth, and no carbohydrate-producing foliage is being removed.
The regions where blueberries grow well are those with a dormant season of December through early March. Blueberry shrubs are extremely hardy. Some varieties survive down to -35 degrees F. In fact, blueberries need a set number of hours below 45 degrees F (called chill hours) in order for their flower buds to open and produce berries. Without ample cold weather, blueberries do not produce fruit.
Each blueberry type and variety has a slightly different number of required chill hours. Low-chill blueberry varieties require 200-800 chill hours and are best for southern regions. High-chill selections need 800-1000 hours and are ideal for the north. When buying blueberry plants, select a variety that’s suitable to your region.
Pruning blueberries can take place as early as late December. However, I recommend waiting until late February or very early March for this task. You’ll be able to prune off any stems that suffered winter injury or breakage due to heavy snows. Plus, the chance of winter injury has largely passed.
The different types of blueberries and their pruning needs
There are many different types of blueberries, including high-bush, low-bush, rabbit-eye, and lots of assorted hybrids. In the north, ‘half-high’ varieties are among the most popular. They are the result of the hybridization of high-bush and low-bush types, and are a great fit for most backyards. They grow 3 to 4 feet in both height and girth, and bear plenty of fruits. Southern gardeners should opt for ‘Rabbit eye’ blueberries as they are more heat tolerant and need fewer chill hours.
Don’t forget that you’ll need at least two different varieties of blueberries to get fruit. Most varieties require a cross-pollination partner. (Those listed in the article linked here, however, are self fertile.) Blueberries are primarily pollinated by our native bumblebees because the vibrations these large bees generate are required for loosening and transferring the pollen in the bell-shaped flowers of blueberries.
Regardless of which type of blueberries you grow, the task of pruning blueberries is the same.
Tips for pruning blueberries
How to prune blueberries depends on whether the plant is new and relatively young or old and overgrown. Below you’ll find step-by-step blueberry pruning instructions for both situations. However, I’d like to share a few key points about pruning blueberries first.
- Never shear back blueberries and turn them into the shape of a meatball. Their fruiting buds are located in the outermost 2-3 inches of stem growth. Shearing back the plants removes all the flower buds.
- If you don’t properly prune your blueberry bushes, the existing branches will age, but new, fruit-producing branches will not be formed. Older, unpruned blueberry bushes tend to produce more leaves than berries, and any berries that are produced are small and produced only on the outermost stems.
- Be sure to use clean, sharp pruning equipment. To avoid the spread of disease, disinfect all pruning equipment before moving from one bush to another. I use a special spray pruning disinfectant that doesn’t gum up or rust your equipment, but you can also dip your tools in a 10% bleach solution or use Lysol spray.
- Blueberries produce their flowers on old wood, meaning that the buds for each year’s berry crop are formed during the summer and autumn of the previous season. Protect your blueberry bushes from deer in the winter or they may strip all the buds off the stems.
Pruning blueberries step-by-step
Step 1:
Stand back and evaluate your blueberry bushes one at a time. Begin by cutting off any dead or damaged branches. Cut these stems off all the way back to where they join a thicker branch. Do not leave a stump behind as it serves as an entryway for disease. If the entire branch is dead, cut if off back to the ground.
Step 2:
After any damaged stems are removed, cut out any crossed branches, particularly those that rub against each other. After pruning is complete, you want an open structure with no crossed branches. Cut crossed branches off all the way down to the base of the plant.
Step 3:
For young blueberry bushes or those that have been properly pruned in the past: Cut one-third of the remaining branches all the way down to the ground, choosing the oldest and thickest ones for removal. This encourages new, productive canes to emerge from the roots. Yes, that means cut 1 out of every 3 branches clear to the ground to stimulate new stems to emerge from the roots. Do this every winter and you’ll always have excellent blueberry production.
For mature blueberry plants that are unpruned and overgrown: Perform a careful renewal pruning to encourage new stem production by cutting half of branches back all the way down to the ground. Always cut off the oldest, thickest ones. This forces new canes to grow from the roots. When a branch is seven or eight years old, production is greatly reduced. If you don’t remove old branches, the plant fails to generate new, more productive stems.
Over the following two to three years, remove the remainder of the oldest branches a few at a time until only newly produced ones remain. The plant continues to produce a moderate crop while the bush is being slowly rejuvenated. Heavily pruned, overgrown bushes take a few years to rebound, but your efforts pay off in the long run with many years of terrific production after the plants are regularly pruned.
Pruning blueberries is emotional
There’s no doubt that pruning blueberries is an emotionally taxing job. It’s particularly difficult to see all the buds being cutting off. But, don’t feel guilty about removing branches with potential fruit. If your goal is to increase your blueberry’s long-term productivity and grow larger fruits, then pruning properly is a must. Just have some wine on-hand for after the job is complete!
Blueberry pruning is an annual chore. Mark your calendar so you don’t forget!
Post-pruning fertilization
When spring arrives, here’s how to fertilize pruned blueberry bushes to adjust the soil pH or add an acid-specific organic granular fertilizer, such as HollyTone. Then, mulch the bushes with one to two inches of pine straw, shredded hardwood bark, or shredded leaves. Do not over-mulch. Blueberries have shallow, fibrous root systems that resent thick layers of mulch.
By following these blueberry pruning instructions, you’ll have productive plants for years to come!
For more on growing backyard fruit, check out these articles:
- Organic apple growing using fruit bagging
- Berries in containers: How to grow a small-space fruit garden
- Growing kiwi fruit: It’s easier than you think
- How to grow citrus in pots using 8 simple steps
- 5 mini melons for small gardens and containers
Do you grow blueberries? Which varieties are your favorites?
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Hello,
Thank you for this helpful summary. Is it OK to cut out clearly dead branches in the summertime or will this stress the plant even if the entire branch is dead?
Yep. It’s always okay to cut out dead wood.
I was cleaning up the garden in late September and trimmed the blueberry bushes of 3 oldest canes each, will they be OK? I realized after I usually do this in early Spring.
Ideally, it should be done in late winter/early spring, but your plants will be fine. They just won’t push out any new growth until next year.
Have new canes 5 feet high. 2 or 3 years growing. No branches. No berries. Should i cut them in half? Will they then branch ?
Yes. That is what I would suggest doing. This will force side buds to develop and branch.
How should I prune whips that develop half way up and near top of blueberry plants. They tend to want to go straight up …taller and taller. I cut some back, but new growth still wants to go up. What is making my plants develop these whips near the tops of plant? Should these be removed entirely?
Thank you.
When you prune too much from the top (instead of removing entire branches all the way down to the plant’s base), “whips” like the ones you describe will form. Instead of pruning from the top down, always prune blueberries from the bottom.
Hi,
I have a blueberry bush ‘Goldtraube’ that I bought at the end of the summer last year and I placed in a large pot and left inside our home (we don’t have a garden). When I bought the plant it had gorgeous blueberries hanging from the branches (so I know it’s able to produce fruit) but as the plant has been inside all summer, the leaves never turned red and never fell off. Now it’s nearly spring and the plant looks healthy, but I’m afraid I will not bear fruit as it hasn’t gone dormant. Is it possible that my plant will bear fruit even though it has not gone dormant?
It will likely not bear fruit as almost all blueberries require some number of chill hours in order to set fruit. I would advise planting it out into the garden in the spring in a permanent location. It won’t fruit this year, but should the following season. I also recommend planting a second variety nearby for cross pollination.
It’s late March and I am just now getting around to pruning. Is it too late??
It’s not too late, as long as the plants aren’t in flower yet. You still have some time, but I wouldn’t delay any longer.
My son cut the branches way too low on a few plants. All the branches were cut to the ground. He’s a kid, so it’s my fault for turning my back. Will the plants come back or are they done for?
They’ll come back. It will be a few years until they’re large enough to bear fruit, but if the root systems were established, they’ll be fine.
Hello, we are moving our blueberries to a different location. It is mid April … they have bloomed and fruit is evident. When my yard fellow dug them up, the roots were compromised and maybe a 1/4 are severed in places. Plus, they have also become quite leggy over the years. My fault since I have neglected pruning.
Are these bushes worth salvaging? Should I just cut all the canes down or is it a lost cause?
Much appreciate your advice on this matter!
Best,
Liz
Memphis zone 7b ish
They are definitely worth salvaging. I would prune them back now, removing 1/3 of the branches by cutting them all the way down to the ground. Yes, you’re sacrificing this year’s fruit, but the root system will not be large enough to support such big plants until it can rebound. The remaining branches can be cut back by another third. Keep them plants well-watered this season and consider removing all the fruit to give the plant a season to recover.
Hi – we recently purchased some land with a couple hundred very old blueberry bushes on it. A former u-pick stand. We are hoping to rejuvenate the bushes and run our own u-pick stand. They have not been pruned or maintained for a couple of years. The bushes are 20+ years old. Do we have any hope of having fruit this summer? We are willing and able to start the pruning process. Is it too late? Please help us!
At this point, I would wait until next winter to do your pruning. See how they do this season. Then, next winter, go in and really prune them hard, removing one-third to one-half of the branches from each plant, removing them all the way down to the ground as described in the article. This will encourage new, fruitful stems to emerge. Even though they’ve been a bit neglected, they will do great. Blueberries live a very long time and produce for decades. Don’t give up on them, just be sure to prune them properly from here on out.
Vaccinium corymbosum `Patriot`50-60 4.5L
Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Polaris’ 30-40 2L
Hi,
Are these two a good mix? How much space does blueberries need? And how much space for spacing the above? When I buy them, Polaris will be about 30cm high and Patriot 60cm high. i plan to plant this near our driveway as hedges (a little on a slope), will it survive?
Much thanks!!
Those are two great varieties. I grow them both myself. Patriot produces really large berries. I would space them about 4 to 5 feet apart.
Just bought a house with several large (8’ tall) blueberry bushes. They have been severely neglected. It’s early May here in CT and things are just starting to green up and bud out. Should I hold off pruning them as described above or go ahead and prune back half the old branches as described above?
It’s a little too late to prune this year. Mark your calendar for next winter.
I pruned my blueberry bush in late winter and it’s bearing fruit now on about half of the branches. However, there are other branches that are beautiful and alive with leaves, but no fruit. Should I cut those off now?
Nope. I would leave those alone. They will likely produce fruit in subsequent years.
Hello! I have 4 blueberry bushes in containers. I’m a bit worried that they won’t produce fruit this year. I had a huge bounty last year. When do flowers usually show? I’m only seeing foliage on my bushes. I don’t see any flower buds at all! I have not pruned them and I know it’s now too late to do so. Any insight would be much appreciated!
Best,
Amos III
Blueberry flowers typically appear simultaneously with the emergence of the first leaves. Often, fruit trees and bushes bear heavy crops every other year unless the fruits are thinned. As long as you prune blueberries properly, you can maintain annual production without thinning, but without proper pruning, you may find you only have good production every other year.
I have a northland that did not fair well through the mild winter and late spring freezes. All my others have berries on them, but the northland seems to be suspended in time.
Its now June and the northland looks like it is still may. No visible damage, green canes, small immature leaves that don’t look dead but are not growing, like it went dormant mid bud cycle.
Can I prune all of the canes down to the ground and revive my plant or is it a lost cause?
I would not recommend pruning this late in the season. Instead, I would fertilize the plant with an acid-specific granular fertilizer within the next week or two. Wait to prune until late next winter. Most fruiting trees and shrubs have “off” years every now and then where they don’t produce at all. It’s a rest period of sorts. I’d just let your Northland blueberry have the year off. 🙂
Hi, I have two “Pink Icing” Blueberries that are 6 years old. The bushes are about 50 feet apart. I’m embarrassed to admit that I have never pruned them (shame on me!). One of the blueberries is doing well and has berries on it. The other one has no berries but lots of growth. Should I wait until March 2021 to prune (I live in Zone 8)? Can I prune out the dead branches now? Thanks!
Dead branches can be removed at any time, but wait to do major pruning until late winter.
Thanks for the tutorial.
We planted few root bound ‘bluecrop’ with few ‘elliott’ plans. Bluecrop plants are about 2 feet height and has handful of fruits and Elliots are 1.5 feet and has no fruits. We planted them yesterday. I am wondering how do we go about pruning and preparing them for future. Thanks.
Hi,
I have several varities of blueberry plants all about 6 to 10 years old. They do produce large berries each year but the berries tend to form on the new small twiggy branches close to the bottom of the bush rather then the larger older thicker branches. Some of the branches are so low on the bush that the berries sit on the ground. Did we prune the shubs incorrectly for this to happen?
Younger branches tend to produce more fruit. To encourage more new young branches, prune out the biggest, oldest branches all the way down to the ground in late winter. Poor pruning sounds like it may be the culprit, but it’s certainly not too late to fix.
This is a great tutorial. Thank you so much!
My question might sound like a “no brainer” question, but in February or early March, when there is no growth on the branches, how does one differentiate between dead branches and live branches?
Live branches will be flexible when you bend them, and when you scratch off a little of the bark with your thumbnail, there will be green underneath. Dead stems snap when you bed them, and they’ll be brown just under their bark.
I have not gotten to prune my blueberry bushes the past two years. They are 5 years old. They have grown very tall and produced a tremendous amount of fruit this year, though the fruit was a little small. The branches are bent over due to the weight of the fruit and have taken over the front of my house. The fruit is almost done producing. Can I trim the top of the branches when I’m done picking and then prune them at the end of winter?
You could do that, but I would recommend just waiting to do a more serious pruning in late winter.
Hi,
I’ve got four blueberry plants (I’ve forgotten the names of the varieties) in my tiny back yard, probably planted too closely and not pruned well, and I also have exposed roots underneath the plants and there is a clumpy moss all around. Production was pretty good until last year but not anymore. Is this related to not having pruned properly? Thanks in advance.
It could be due to poor pruning, but it could also be due to other factors, such as late freezes, improper soil pH, or infertile soil. I would get a soil test to check for pH and nutrient levels and begin to prune properly as well.
Great advice. I love in Texas and have planted three blueberry bushes this year. Legacy, Climax, and Tifblue.
I have 6 blueberry bushes that are about 6 years old. They have grown to about 7 feet tall. I have done some pruning but not every year as I should have. Even still, I get a good harvest from them. I want to transplant them to another area in my garden. It’s mid October now, can I prune them now and then transplant them in January or should I do the pruning and transplanting at the same time? What advice do you have in the transplanting? You recommend using HolyTone as a fertilizer. Which Holy Tone do you recommend?
I would move them now and then prune them in late winter. And there is only one HollyTone fertilizer. It’s a granular fertilizer available at garden centers for acid-loving plants like blueberries.
I get these little cluster mini bushes on my plants that seem to be brittle. Should I cut them out? Will they have berries? Also chipmunks or squirrels ransacked my berries this year. Any suggestions.
I’m not sure what you mean by “little cluster mini bushes”, but if the growth seems distorted, then yes, I would advise cutting it out using a clean, sharp pair of pruners. We have trouble with squirrels in our berry patch, too. I have a live trap from hav-a-heart that I set to trap the squirrel and relocate. Make sure you follow your regional laws, though. Some areas allow you to trap nuisance animals while others do not.
We have productive blueberry bushes that have outgrown the netted canopy that keeps the birds out. Options seem to be to cut the tops to fit the canopy (resulting in less blueberry production), building a taller canopy (not easy) or letting the birds take their share (at peak production, we gather about 3 quarts/day from 6 bushes). Any guidance? How many blueberries can a robin eat in a day?
They can eat a lot! I would not cut the tops off, but rather cut out the tallest branches completely by pruning them out at their base. This should reduce the overall height of the plants and encourage new growth which you can keep shorter moving forward. However, all plants want to grow to their genetically pre-determined height so this will be a “forever issue”. You might consider building a taller canopy if you have the time and money to invest in it.
We live in Vemont and although we had 60 degree days last week, we are currently enjoying about 6 inches of fresh snow. Is it too late to prune our bushes. Thank you.
It’s safe to prune them up until the time the plants develop flower buds and leaves.
Is a branch considered dead if it doesn’t have leaves on it? My guess is yes but our blueberry is in a pot and we had a sudden snap of cold. It now has very few leaves.
A good way to check if a branch is dead is to scrape some of the bark off of it with your thumbnail. If it’s green underneath the bark, it’s still alive. If it’s brown and dried up, it’s probably dead.
We have two very tall blueberry bushes(10-11 feet tall this year) but I don’t know the variety of either. They are both 14 years old and grow rapidly each year. Until last year, we would trim them back in the Winter to reduce their growth(Because of ignorance, we were not pruning properly to the ground as you have instructed). They were not trimmed last year. Each year, they produce an enormous amount of fruit and this year was the most yet. I am planning on pruning them this Winter as you instructed. Since they are so tall, can I also trim them back to a more manageable height without damaging them?
Sounds like you are growing high-bush blueberries which are tall plants due to their genetics. You can top prune them to restrict their height, but it will have to be a regular task because their genetics want them to grow taller. Do know, though, that the flower buds (and therefore the fruit) is at the ends of the branches, so when you top prune you are cutting off potential fruit. It’s really your decision.
I could not get outside to d the much needed pruning on my Blueberry bushes this March. They are flowering now and I will just let them go. When is the soonest that I can prune them in the upcoming season?
Late winter/very early spring is the best time to prune. Earliest I would recommend would be late January.
I am sure this has been asked before but I am new here so, I have 2 blueberry plants in Pots, is the pruning process the same for these rather than those planted in the ground?
Thank you.
Yes. The pruning process would be the same.
I have two “Toro” variety blueberry bushes, one very productive and the other very unproductive. I’d like to move the unproductive one to try and give it better lighting conditions. When is the best time of year in zone 6B?
I suggest you move it in spring, before the buds begin to swell, or in the autumn, just after the first fall frost. Be sure to keep it well watered for the first year after transplanting.
I’ve had these blueberry bushes for at least 13 years and I prune every winters and put hollytone every spring.The berries used to be so tasty, but in recent 2 years they are more bland and less tasty. What can affect their flavor and how can I take steps to improve this?
Flavor can be impacted by the weather in many ways (too much heat, not enough heat, too much water, not enough water, etc). That’s likely to be what happened, but the age of the plants can alter the flavor sometimes, too. There isn’t anything you can do to control either factor, unfortunately. Just care for the plants the best way you can and hope they just had a few bad years.
Hi Jessica, last year i had a great crop get mummified on one bush! I cleaned all the berries that dropped and have since put a couple of inches of compost on top of the soil. Is there anything else to do to prevent this from occurring?
That’s so hard to watch happen. Yikes! Sounds like it might have been brown rot. If you have wet conditions next year, you can use an organic fungicide like Serenade to help prevent the fungus from settling in. Follow label instructions.
Thank you! This post was so easy to follow. I finally felt a bit of confidence in pruning my bloobs. I also feel more able to identify next year where this year’s pruning was beneficial.
They’re about 4 years old and I’d really never fertilized them or anything. Though they were skillfully planted by a local farmer. A few didn’t make it over the years. One I pruned entirely down to the base.
I went ahead and gave each of them some Hollytone and some fertilizer at the base & covered with a little mulch. It’s maybe a bit early but I read that the minerals in the HT can take a few weeks to seep into the soil. We’ll see if that was a mistake. Thanks again!