I live in northeast Ohio I have 4 or 5 different varieties from northern low bush to pink lemonade. It’s sept 1. All of them have red leaves really bad and if they aren’t completely bright red they are freckled with red spots. I’m new to berries. This is my first year having them so I need some help. I know they need a ph of 4.5 sh but my soil test about 6.9. But I don’t think ph a lot is the issue. What should I do. I’ve put acidifier down and berry blend ,fertilizer and kelp fertilizer in rotation. Could it be the surfer is too low
Thanks for the lesson and tips. How do you tell the difference between old and new growth? Are brown branches always considered old and green are new? How many years can a branch produce for and how do you keep track of their age? I'm a novice growing blueberries for the first time, and also pruning them for the first time. Your tips are fantastic. Thank you.
Thank you for your questions, and we apologize for the delayed response! When you are new to working established blueberries, it can be hard to determine where to begin. How old is any given branch? It's not readily visually obvious, though stem color and bark development does give some clue. The key in this situation is to make sure you are fertilizing and watering adequately, then take a deep breath and make some educated guesses and prune accordingly. A mature (7-8 years or older) blueberry plant in good production condition should be pruned back every year to 15-20 stems, roughly equal amounts of 1year, 2year, 3year, and 4year branches - and nothing really older than that. The mostly green branches are new or at most one year branches, so keep around a half dozen of the best health and positioned ones and remove the rest. Next look at your thickest most barked up branches, and remove all or most of them. Now take your best guess on the rest, thinning back to maybe 18 total stems. This isn't perfect, but it doesn't have to be - there is some cushion to the practice, and the worst you will do is reduce your yield a little bit for a year or at most two if you make some wrong cuts. It's more difficult when you are faced with an older bush that isn't already growing vigorously - I normally just try to remove about 20% of the branches, focusing on my best estimate of the oldest ones, and practice good care so I have more to work with over the next couple of years. Another factor in determining age can come into play - productive lifespan. Commercial blueberry producers rotate out their oldest plants, somewhere around 20-30years old. But these aren't dying, and in fact they often sell them to homeowners who can enjoy their continued (but slowly diminishing) production for maybe another 20 years or so. If you think your existing plants are getting into that 40+ year age range, pay attention in particular to new growth vigor - if they are still producing berries well and producing plenty of new vigorous shoots to replace the older stems you are removing, just go with them. If either production is dramatically tapering off, or if new growth is very sparse or weak despite good fertilizing and watering, consider replacing them within a couple of years. Hope this helps! Thank you!
Do the blueberry bush need to be bald with no leave before you prune? In am in kentucky, and I still have green leave with some red dots. Northern Duke. I don't know if I should be pruning yet?
Help! Please! I didn’t know you had to cross pollinate and now I don’t know what variety I planted two years ago and I’m also just finding out I should have pulled off the flowers. What should I do? I’d love any advice.
Good Morning. Grew my Vaccinium Corymbosum in a pot on the porch. Pruned it in summer. 1) what is the proper soil? 2) when is it the right time to fertilize it? 3) is this type of bush a self pollunator? 4) i reside in a 7/8 zone south east of the north american continent. 5) What is a good feetilizer approach for organic gardening and why? Thank you for being a blueberry grower, tree hugger, nature conscious. The truth Hurts. There is Only 1 Earth.😢 Blessings!!! Sister Pam B. John 3:16 for EVERYBODY!!!
Can I still prune my plant while it has blooms? I want to cut them off to stimulate root growth. I bought it from the nursery this way.. it is 2 years old.
I live in far NW Wisconsin. My bushes are going into their 3rd winter and I haven’t done any pruning yet. Will that hurt them or reduce production? Also, my bushes are usually under at least 1-2 feet of snow during the recommended pruning period. Can I prune a little later? Thanks for getting back!
Hello, thank you for watching and asking your questions. We are in Corvallis, Oregon so pruning times may differ compared to where you are. I would encourage you to discover the resources from your local university's extension service. Here is a link to Oregon State University's Extension Service article on pruning blueberries: extension.oregonstate.edu/news/prune-blueberries-yearly-more-fruit. In Oregon, pruning between January and early- March is ideal. Hope that's helpful!
I need to know if I should prune my blueberry bush that was devoured by Japanese beetles? It's potted and very big, healthy looking but the beetles ate the leaves up this summer. My sister moved so she gave it to me and I don't know what to do. Do I just leave it? And what months should you prune it?
Thank you for the question! OK, first things first - are the beetles still actively damaging the plant, or does it seem like the damage is done? If the beetles are still active, neem is a safe and effective insecticide for pest control on blueberries. Next priority - you need to get it to leaf back out. Water medium-heavy to heavy (blueberries need a lot of water during summer heat), and apply a slow release organic rhododendron fertilizer to encourage new growth. Do not prune the bushes now (late July), except to remove any branches that have become brown/crisp past point of recovery. Prune the blueberry plants in late winter, which would be late January to early February here in western Oregon. Hope that helps!
That’s great to know. I was looking at them early February and had no idea what to do. Now in the first week of March and the buds are starting to show up and it’s much easier to tell what’s alive and what’s not. I’m in Vancouver, Canada
It also depends on the variety. Northern high bush varieties are the only ones that can really survive in Maine, so you only see the tall types. There are also lowbush, half-high, rabbit eye, and even some miniature varieties. Finally, growing in containers generally stunts growth, but if you are a renter, have mobility limitations, want earlier ripening blueberries, enjoy containers, or other reasons, it may be better to have a smaller bush in a container than no bush.
They look about 4-5 ft tall( a guesstimate because of the camera angle) which is normal here in Delaware. Ours top out at 6-8 ft a few years later. Mine need some serious pruning and I’m happy to have this video to guide me.
Knowledgeable and easily comprehensible pruning tutorial. Thank you :)
Thanks. I needed this.
Thank you for the tips. I’ll give it a go tomorrow:)
I live in northeast Ohio I have 4 or 5 different varieties from northern low bush to pink lemonade. It’s sept 1. All of them have red leaves really bad and if they aren’t completely bright red they are freckled with red spots. I’m new to berries. This is my first year having them so I need some help. I know they need a ph of 4.5 sh but my soil test about 6.9. But I don’t think ph a lot is the issue. What should I do. I’ve put acidifier down and berry blend ,fertilizer and kelp fertilizer in rotation. Could it be the surfer is too low
Thanks for the lesson and tips. How do you tell the difference between old and new growth? Are brown branches always considered old and green are new? How many years can a branch produce for and how do you keep track of their age? I'm a novice growing blueberries for the first time, and also pruning them for the first time. Your tips are fantastic. Thank you.
Thank you for your questions, and we apologize for the delayed response!
When you are new to working established blueberries, it can be hard to determine where to begin. How old is any given branch? It's not readily visually obvious, though stem color and bark development does give some clue.
The key in this situation is to make sure you are fertilizing and watering adequately, then take a deep breath and make some educated guesses and prune accordingly. A mature (7-8 years or older) blueberry plant in good production condition should be pruned back every year to 15-20 stems, roughly equal amounts of 1year, 2year, 3year, and 4year branches - and nothing really older than that. The mostly green branches are new or at most one year branches, so keep around a half dozen of the best health and positioned ones and remove the rest. Next look at your thickest most barked up branches, and remove all or most of them. Now take your best guess on the rest, thinning back to maybe 18 total stems. This isn't perfect, but it doesn't have to be - there is some cushion to the practice, and the worst you will do is reduce your yield a little bit for a year or at most two if you make some wrong cuts.
It's more difficult when you are faced with an older bush that isn't already growing vigorously - I normally just try to remove about 20% of the branches, focusing on my best estimate of the oldest ones, and practice good care so I have more to work with over the next couple of years.
Another factor in determining age can come into play - productive lifespan. Commercial blueberry producers rotate out their oldest plants, somewhere around 20-30years old. But these aren't dying, and in fact they often sell them to homeowners who can enjoy their continued (but slowly diminishing) production for maybe another 20 years or so. If you think your existing plants are getting into that 40+ year age range, pay attention in particular to new growth vigor - if they are still producing berries well and producing plenty of new vigorous shoots to replace the older stems you are removing, just go with them. If either production is dramatically tapering off, or if new growth is very sparse or weak despite good fertilizing and watering, consider replacing them within a couple of years.
Hope this helps! Thank you!
Super, concise presentation. 👍👍
Very helpful, thanks for the tutorial!
Do the blueberry bush need to be bald with no leave before you prune? In am in kentucky, and I still have green leave with some red dots. Northern Duke. I don't know if I should be pruning yet?
Great video Very informative Thank you
Great video
Help! Please! I didn’t know you had to cross pollinate and now I don’t know what variety I planted two years ago and I’m also just finding out I should have pulled off the flowers. What should I do? I’d love any advice.
Very helpful, ty
Good Morning. Grew my Vaccinium Corymbosum in a pot on the porch. Pruned it in summer.
1) what is the proper soil?
2) when is it the right time to fertilize it?
3) is this type of bush a self pollunator?
4) i reside in a 7/8 zone south east of the north american continent.
5) What is a good feetilizer approach for organic gardening and why?
Thank you for being a blueberry grower, tree hugger, nature conscious.
The truth Hurts. There is Only 1 Earth.😢
Blessings!!!
Sister Pam B.
John 3:16 for EVERYBODY!!!
The low branches could also be used for layering...multipling plants.
Can I still prune my plant while it has blooms? I want to cut them off to stimulate root growth. I bought it from the nursery this way.. it is 2 years old.
How will I know the age of my plant? Thanks for your time
I live in far NW Wisconsin. My bushes are going into their 3rd winter and I haven’t done any pruning yet. Will that hurt them or reduce production? Also, my bushes are usually under at least 1-2 feet of snow during the recommended pruning period. Can I prune a little later? Thanks for getting back!
Hello, thank you for watching and asking your questions. We are in Corvallis, Oregon so pruning times may differ compared to where you are. I would encourage you to discover the resources from your local university's extension service. Here is a link to Oregon State University's Extension Service article on pruning blueberries: extension.oregonstate.edu/news/prune-blueberries-yearly-more-fruit. In Oregon, pruning between January and early- March is ideal. Hope that's helpful!
Thankyou!!!!!!!!!!!
What varieties? Very cool I have northern highbush
Thank you! The container blueberries are 'Pink Lemonade' variety.
I need to know if I should prune my blueberry bush that was devoured by Japanese beetles? It's potted and very big, healthy looking but the beetles ate the leaves up this summer. My sister moved so she gave it to me and I don't know what to do. Do I just leave it? And what months should you prune it?
Thank you for the question! OK, first things first - are the beetles still actively damaging the plant, or does it seem like the damage is done? If the beetles are still active, neem is a safe and effective insecticide for pest control on blueberries. Next priority - you need to get it to leaf back out. Water medium-heavy to heavy (blueberries need a lot of water during summer heat), and apply a slow release organic rhododendron fertilizer to encourage new growth.
Do not prune the bushes now (late July), except to remove any branches that have become brown/crisp past point of recovery. Prune the blueberry plants in late winter, which would be late January to early February here in western Oregon. Hope that helps!
what time of the year do you prune
In Oregon, pruning between January and early- March is ideal. Thank you for your question!
That’s great to know. I was looking at them early February and had no idea what to do. Now in the first week of March and the buds are starting to show up and it’s much easier to tell what’s alive and what’s not. I’m in Vancouver, Canada
Those are tiny for the age. Put them outside they'd be 2x at least. At least here in Maine they would be
Hi Ben, we assure you these blueberries are grown outside. They were only brought inside for the purpose of making this video. Happy gardening!
It also depends on the variety. Northern high bush varieties are the only ones that can really survive in Maine, so you only see the tall types. There are also lowbush, half-high, rabbit eye, and even some miniature varieties. Finally, growing in containers generally stunts growth, but if you are a renter, have mobility limitations, want earlier ripening blueberries, enjoy containers, or other reasons, it may be better to have a smaller bush in a container than no bush.
They look about 4-5 ft tall( a guesstimate because of the camera angle) which is normal here in Delaware. Ours top out at 6-8 ft a few years later. Mine need some serious pruning and I’m happy to have this video to guide me.
I want to see bushes out in the fields not in a container.
Please speak up...
I lost interest when she said let it breathe…bro…stop it.
Wow what a helpful comment