When to prune blueberries – time it right for your best crop yet

If you're looking to grow your own fruit and want to choose something rewarding, blueberry bushes are the way to go. They're easy to care for, too, but knowing when to prune blueberries will encourage bumper harvests next year.

Figuring out how to grow blueberries is pretty straightforward, and they're one of the healthiest superfoods you can grow at home.

But, learning how to prune blueberries will cultivate healthier growth, and knowing when to prune blueberries is key to getting the most out of every harvest. We've asked garden experts to help us determine exactly when you should be giving the plants a trim.

When to prune blueberries

Whether you've discovered how to grow blueberries in pots or you've planted a bush in your garden border, your plants should be pruned once they're at least two years old.

If you’ve recently added a blueberry bush to your garden or your blueberry bush is under two years old, you don’t need to prune it just yet. The exception is any damaged, dead or diseased wood that needs to be removed from the plant.

Prune sparingly, though, and focus mainly on crossing branches that could affect the growth of the bush later down the line.

When your blueberry bush is over two years old, you can then start thinking about properly pruning your blueberries. Thankfully, the window to do this is fairly large.

'After two years, blueberries can be pruned between November to March, when they are dormant,' says Morris Hankinson, founder of Hopes Grove Nurseries.

'Remove any dead, diseased, crossing, hollow or damaged stems, and the ends of the branches that last fruited, which tend to go thin. These should be cut back to a lower upward-facing bud. Some of the older stems, which will be thicker than newer ones, can be cut back to the base, or just above a strong shoot further down the stem.'

Morris Hankinson

Morris Hankinson is the founder and managing director of Hopes Grove Nurseries Ltd, the UK’s only specialist grower-retailer of hedging plants. After graduating with a Commercial Horticulture Degree from Writtle College, Essex in 1992 Morris established the nursery the same year on a half-acre plot at the 25-acre family farm in Tenterden, Kent.

Steve Chilton, garden expert at LeisureBench, suggests waiting until February or early March. By waiting until late winter, when the plant is dormant, you should be able to easily distinguish the leaf buds (which are flatter) from the fruit buds (which are rounder).

The aim when pruning is to focus on removing branches that have more leaf buds on them while keeping branches with lots of fruit buds. This will ultimately provide you with a more fruitful harvest when the berries start to ripen from mid-summer.

'Old stems which have produced very little fruit can be removed to make way for younger, more productive growth,' says Angela Slater, gardening expert at Hayes Garden World. 'Cut out dense older branches from the centre of the plant to maintain a nice open structure with a good airflow. This helps keep the plant free from diseases which thrive in still air and will allow sunlight to reach the centre.'

These older branches are easily identifiable, as they look grey and woody in contrast to new growth, which is red in colour.

Harry Bodell, gardening expert at PriceYourJob.co.uk, adds, ‘A mature blueberry bush should have a third each of one-year, two-year and three-year or older stems.’

In essence, this means that each year, you should prune your blueberry bush to have one-third old wood, one-third middle-aged growth, and one-third new shoots.

Of course, you can also focus on pruning for aesthetic reasons each year. ‘Blueberry bushes should have an open, vase-like shape,’ explains Steve from LeisureBench. ‘Avoid excessive pruning or cutting into the centre of the bush, as this can reduce fruiting potential. Instead, focus on shaping the outer branches.’

Angela Slater

Angela holds a degree in Conservation and Land Management and has had an active interest in gardening since the age of six, helping her father out in the garden while he grew his own vegetables. She now owns a smallholding where she grows a selection of vegetables and soft fruit. Angela has worked for Hayes for 33 years and has produced content for many national, lifestyle and garden trade publications.

Blueberry essentials

FAQs

Do blueberries fruit on old or new wood?

'Blueberries fruit on one-year-old canes, which are the shoots that grew the previous year,' explains Angela from Hayes Garden World. 'These canes develop fruiting buds in late summer and autumn, which will then bear fruit the following spring and summer. After 4-6 years, these canes start to produce fewer berries and should be removed to encourage the growth of new, vigorous shoots.'

Should you prune blueberry bushes in pots?

Yes – blueberries in pots should be pruned the same as those in the ground to encourage better fruiting during the next growing season.

So, now you know when to prune blueberries, you can add this task to your list of gardening jobs during the colder months.