Blueberries should not be missing in lean, acidic heather garden soil and partially shaded bog beds. With their pretty flowers, the decorative berry bushes set colorful accents in the spring garden. The real attraction are the juicy, blue berries, which taste just as good fresh from the bush as they are as a delicious ingredient for cold and warm dishes. Annual pruning is key to a bountiful harvest of tasty blueberries. You can read here when and how to properly prune your blueberry bushes.

Blueberries are best pruned in winter

Table of Contents

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  1. Types of cuts and dates
  2. education cut
  3. maintenance cut
  4. taper cut
  5. frequently asked Questions

    6. Types of cuts and dates

    An annual pruning of blueberries is not obligatory. Unlike raspberries or blackberries, you can easily let wild blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) and cultivated blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) grow. Meanwhile, grab once a year to scissors, the effort is rewarded with a higher crop yield and bigger blueberries. The following table gives an overview of recommended types of cut and the best date in each case:

    cut type goal/occasion best appointment
    education cut build a productive shrub 1st to 3rd year in February
    maintenance cut preserve profitability from the 4th year February to the beginning of March
    taper cut revitalize neglected blueberries late winter

    digression

    Better to prune blueberries north of the Alps in February

    With a cut in February you make the best choice of date for your blueberries. In regions with mild winters in hardiness zones 7, 8 and higher, there is the option of pruning the berry bush immediately after harvest. For harsh winter regions in hardiness zones 6 and 5, an autumn date is associated with the risk that a naturally hardy blueberry will freeze back severely. It cannot be ruled out that the plant will sprout fresh after cutting, which will significantly impair its natural frost hardiness.

    Properly growing blueberries

    With 5 to 8 bottom shoots a blueberry bush is well positioned for a bountiful harvest of large, juicy fruits. A framework with more than 10 bottom shoots also gives you delicious blueberries. However, you have to reckon with the fact that the fruits are small and have a low juice content. We therefore recommend the following pruning from the year of planting until the beginning of the yield phase in the second or third year. How to proceed professionally:

    • Build up the shrub framework with 5 to 8 vital ground shoots (maximum 10)
    • Remove excess ground shoots
    • In the first and second year all Cut off the flowers at the peduncle or cancel

    It is undoubtedly difficult to remove the flowers in the first two years and thus forego a juicy blueberry harvest. Nevertheless, we recommend that you push yourself through to this intervention in growth. As a result, the berry bush invests all of its energy in strong rooting and healthy, profitable growth.

    tips

    Planting too deep robs your blueberries of their will to live. Place the root ball so that it protrudes about two fingers from the substrate. Cover the exposed root area with bark mulch or leaf compost, which can be up to 20 centimeters thick for autumn planting, as natural winter protection.

    Instructions for the maintenance cut

    An annual maintenance cut continues in a modified form what you initiated with the upbringing. The aim of cutting care is continuous rejuvenationby exchanging older shoots for young wood. If, with increasing age, unfavorable brooms form on the tips of the shoots, a skilful trimming can remedy the situation. How to properly prune established blueberries:

    • The best time is in February on a frost-free day
    • Start by cutting out dead branches that are growing inward or crossing each other
    • Broom-like branched shoot tips slim down to a lower side branch
    • From the 4th year at least one clear out old scaffolding drive
    • Cultivate the most promising vertical ground shoot(s) as a successor
    • Remove excess ground shoots at the base

    from one continuous rejuvenation the entire blueberry bush benefits. By giving way to a young ground shoot each year from the oldest skeleton shoot, you also encourage the growth of young, annual side branches as the most valuable fruiting wood. At the same time, you won't feel compelled to plant an over-aged blueberry in later years and consequently go without delicious blueberries from your own harvest for several years.

    Starting in the fourth year, thin out an older shoot. In exchange, grow a young shoot as a fresh framework component. If shoot tips branch out massively, use the derivation to slim down the broom to a lower side shoot.

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    Promoting young fruit wood - instructions for the derivation pruning

    The thickest and sweetest blueberries thrive on the one-year-old side shoots on the shrub framework. To ensure that aged, worn branches do not shade the young fruit wood or deprive it of important nutrients, a diversion cut clears the way. You can recognize old wood by the strongly branched, hanging growth and grey-brown, barky bark. Along the old shoot, look for a young side shoot with green, smooth bark. Use the pruning shears at the fork in the young and old wood. The figure below illustrates the important pruning technique, which is of crucial importance for all fruit trees.

    When pruning, old, worn wood has to give way so that young fruit wood can develop freely.

    Rejuvenate an old blueberry bush

    Blueberries can reach a proud age of up to 40 years. It easily survives so much concentrated vitality if cut care has been neglected for several years. If you have taken over an old blueberry bush, give it new impetus with a vigorous rejuvenation cut. How to do it:

    • The best time is in late winter
    • Cut off all dead shoots at the base first
    • Cut back the remaining shoots to 30 to 35 centimeters

    After a total pruning, a blueberry bush remembers its "iron reserve". Specifically, these are sleeping eyes that slumber almost invisibly under the grey, barky bark. By radically pruning the berry bush, the dormant buds are revitalized. In combination with a good portion of leaf compost and horn shavings, a fresh shoot begins that you can use for a new growth.

    You can revitalize a senile, old blueberry bush with a rejuvenation pruning. Cut back all shoots to 30 centimeters in late winter. The wood sprout vigorously from the sleeping eyes in the following summer.

    frequently asked Questions

    Are blueberries self-fertile?

    That's the way it is. A blueberry bush bears fruit without a conspecific being nearby. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended to socialize at least two blueberries. This not only increases the yield. By planting the early-ripening variety 'Earlyblue' next to the mid-early variety 'Bluecrop' and the late blueberry 'Goldtraube', the window for the harvest remains open longer.

    How long does it take for a freshly planted blueberry to bear fruit for the first time?

    As a rule, young blueberries fruit for the first time in the second or third year after planting. The yield is significantly improved from the start when you plant multiple varieties in the garden.

    I would like to grow blueberries on my balcony. Which variety is suitable for this? How big should the pot be?

    All blueberry varieties love a spot in partial shade. You are therefore free to choose for the west or east-facing balcony or in a shaded niche on the south-facing balcony. A bucket of at least 10 liters is big enough to grow blueberries in. Please make sure to use a slightly acidic substrate, such as rhododendron or ericaceous soil.

    My three blueberry bushes bear only a few measly fruits. I suspect an unsuitable location as the cause. When and how can I transplant the berry bushes?

    Blueberries prefer a sunny to semi-shady location that is not too hot. A humus-rich, well-drained garden soil with a pH of 4.0 to 5.0 is perfect. The best time for a change of location is in autumn after the leaves have dropped. Cut out the root ball in a radius that is at least half the circumference of the shrub. Ideally, prepare the planting pit at the new location with peat soil or a mix of leaf compost, sand and clay and a handful of horn shavings.(32.93€)

    Numerous branches of my two-year-old blueberry have dried up at the tips and have brown leaves. What are the causes? What can I do?

    It is difficult to diagnose the damage described without looking at the bush. You should consider the following causes: waterlogging, too high a pH value (greater than 5.5), compacted soil, drought. If one of the first three triggers mentioned applies, we recommend cutting back the blueberry bush into healthy wood and transplanting it or replacing the soil. Regular watering with soft rainwater helps against dryness.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    When it comes to cutting blueberries, joy and sorrow go hand in hand. A pruning at the wrong time dampens the joy of the harvest yield as well as a faulty cut. So that you don't have to worry about unnecessary problems with blueberry bushes, the following table draws your attention to the three most common pruning errors and gives tips for skilful prevention:

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    never cleared senile, impenetrable growth Thin out every year from the 4th year
    no educational cut densely branched shrub with few, small fruits Grow blueberries with 5 to 8 strong bottom shoots
    cut after flowering few or no fruits always cut in February
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    tips

    Blueberries have one Aversion to lime in any form. Plant the berry bushes in acidic soil with a pH between 4 and 5. To prevent limescale from accumulating in the soil, please always water the thirsty blueberries with rainwater or well-stale tap water.

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Vegetable garden