How to Prune and Trim Blueberry Bushes Corecctly

By Calin Oancea and Liviu Burileanu

7/21/20244 min read

  • Remove dead or damaged branches.

  • Thin the blueberry bush's interior for better air and light access.

  • Shape your blueberry bush into an open vase form.

  • Prune one-third of the oldest branches annually.

  • Lightly trim the rest to encourage new growth.

green design
green design
green design
green design
multiple Blueberries growing on a leafy bush
multiple Blueberries growing on a leafy bush
green design
green design
dark green design
dark green design
green design
green design
green design
green design
Green Box
Green Box

Pruning Your Blueberry Bushes: A Quick Summary

Understanding the Basics

After planting shrubs, pruning blueberry bushes is essential for maintaining their health, encouraging growth, and optimizing fruit production, it is one of the important practices when growing berry bushes.

Through multiple experiments, we concluded that the best time to prune Blueberry bushes is late winter or early spring. This timing allows easy identification of dead or damaged branches and minimizes stress on the plant.

Tools You'll Need

Use sharp, clean pruning shears or loppers for clean cuts.

a green Blueberry bush that just got pruned
a green Blueberry bush that just got pruned

Step-by-Step Pruning Process

Here are the steps that we found work the best when you want to prune a bush correctly:

  1. Remove Dead or Damaged Wood: Start by cutting away any branches that are dead, broken, or diseased. This prevents disease and pests from affecting the bush.

  2. Thin Out the Blueberry Bush: Remove any twiggy, small branches that clutter the interior of the bush. This increases air circulation and light penetration, also important for plant and fruit health.

  3. Prune for Shape and Size: Shape the bush by trimming back overgrown branches. Aim to keep the bush open and vase-shaped. Before doing this please plan you what types of shape you want

  4. Cut Back Old Wood: Blueberries produce fruit on branches that are one to three years old. Older branches tend to be less productive. Prune out up to a third of the oldest branches each year, cutting them back to the ground or to a strong young shoot.

  5. Heading Back: If necessary, slightly trim back the remaining branches to encourage branching and new growth. Be cautious not to over-prune, though our experience this can lead to reduced fruit production and can be a deadly mistake.

a bush with berries that needs to be trimed
a bush with berries that needs to be trimed
green design
green design
green design
green design
multiple berries growing on a properly trimed Blueberry bush
multiple berries growing on a properly trimed Blueberry bush
green design
green design
green design
green design

Special Considerations for Fall and Winter

  • Fall Pruning: While heavy pruning should be done in late winter or early spring, light pruning and removal of dead branches can be performed in the fall to tidy up the plant.

  • Winter Pruning: In regions with mild winters, you can prune bushes and Blueberris in late winter. However, in colder areas, wait until the risk of extreme cold has passed for proper blueberry plant care to avoid damaging the plant.

After Pruning Care

After pruning, apply a balanced fertilizer to support new growth. Mulch around the base of the bush to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and provide nutrients as it decomposes.

Sources

Nature and Sustainability uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies to support the facts we describe in our articles. Please read our editorial policy to learn more about how we keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Fall pruning: Think Twice About Fall Pruning (k-state.edu)

  2. Spring pruning: Early-Spring Pruning Primer - This Old House

  3. General information on pruning shrubs: Bush Pruning Tips for Healthier Bushes | Family Handyman, Pruning trees and shrubs | UMN Extension, https://extension.umd.edu/resource/pruning-shrubs-and-hedges-home-garden

  4. Caring for shrubs after trimming: Homeowner's Guide To Shrubs | The Family Handyman

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Calin Oancea
Calin Oancea
Green Box
Green Box

Article By:

Calin has been in the garden industry for 5 years and knows a lot about gardening and plants. He owns this website and is responsible for most of the content.

Reviewed By:

Liviu Burileanu

Liviu is an expert gardener who has farmed and grown plants for 15 years. He likes houseplants and also knows cybersecurity like the back of his hand.