Pruning blueberries: when and how to do it right for beginners and is it necessary

Blueberries lend themselves well to pruning, so gardeners remove excess shoots not only in spring, but also in summer. Pruning for blueberries is a necessary measure that allows you to maintain the quality of the crop, since on densely growing bushes the fruits grow small and have a sour taste. The plant spends a lot of energy on old branches that do not produce a crop, so they should be disposed of in a timely manner.

Features of the berry plant

The blueberry is a bush with oval green leaves, reaching a height of one to two and a half meters. Blue berries, 1-2 cm in diameter.

The blueberry bush contains shoots of different ages. Branches on the sides of branches older than two years are the most productive. Old branches that are more than four or five years old bear much less fruit than two or three years old.

Young stems have bright, smooth bark and no offshoots. Older stems are characterized by strong branches and give the richest harvest. In order to achieve a rich harvest in plantation conditions, it is customary to leave a dozen fruit-bearing branches on the bushes.

In suburban areas, gardeners tend to leave blueberries thicker, getting more yield from the bush, but the berries grow smaller.

Do blueberries need pruning?

Any fruit crop has a need to get rid of old shoots. Blueberries, if not cut, begin to grow weak branches and spend a significant amount of energy on their development.As a result, there is not enough juice for berries, and they grow small, with poor taste. In addition, dense plantings are poorly blown by the wind, fungi accumulate in them, due to which the plant begins to rot.

Due dates

When pruning, you need to take into account the climatic conditions of a particular area. In warm regions, pruning is done in early spring, in cold regions - closer to May. After wintering, young he althy branches rise easily, so it is not difficult to find old branches that need to be disposed of. Remove branches that remain on the ground.

Branches containing rot and damage should not only be cut, but also burned. This is necessary to prevent the spread of infection.

Pruning blueberry bushes is extremely rare in summer. This procedure in the summer is carried out only when you need to get rid of broken branches. Before winter, it is customary to cut rough branches that cannot be bent down.

Cutting types

Pruning blueberries is divided into three types: sanitary, shaping and anti-aging.

Sanitary

This type of pruning is carried out when necessary, as a rule, this is done immediately after wintering. It is needed to get rid of broken or infected shoots. Cut off dry, diseased branches to normalize the movement of juices in the stems. Get rid of lying branches and bushy growth. Cut off frostbitten tops.

Forming room

From late autumn to early spring, blueberry shaping pruning is carried out. They cut the buds on seedlings to avoid premature fruiting, as early harvests are scarce and take a lot of strength from the plant.

The plant is shortened if there is a disproportionate crown in relation to the roots, in order to provide the roots with energy so that they can grow.Forming pruning is carried out, as a rule, for plants over the age of three years. First of all, get rid of the small increase. In large farms, growth begins to be removed already in the first year.

Rejuvenating

Carried out in order to restore the ability of blueberry bushes to bring a large and high-quality harvest. In well-kept gardens, blueberry bushes can bear fruit for more than three decades, however, starting from the age of five, the yield of the plant drops markedly.

Old blueberry branches are overgrown with a large number of short branches on top. As a result, very small berries grow on them. However, vertical shoots often depart from the middle of old branches. It is necessary at the right time to make a cut over the shoot in order to transfer the branch to it. If there are no such shoots on the old branch, then it should be cut off at the very base.

How to prune blueberries

Let's figure out how to prune garden blueberries correctly. The procedure for pruning tall varieties is that damaged or obsolete branches are removed from the bushes, as well as blind growth. Before pruning, do not remove the mulch, otherwise rotting stumps may form, which will attract harmful microorganisms that infect plants with various diseases.

Before you start pruning, the bushes are freed from mulch to the ground, and after the procedure, good mulch is returned back, bad mulch is burned.

Crowns must be well thinned to ensure light access to all branches. Do not leave old branches, as this will prevent blueberries from being well covered before wintering.

In a container

Blueberry planting material is sold at one year of age and older. Saplings older than three years after planting should be shortened by half, and weak shoots should be cut out. This helps the plant to take root better in the soil.

Pruning seedlings in a container is necessary when the aerial part of the plant is heavier than the earth coma. In such a situation, the roots of the plant do not have the opportunity to grow and develop in proportion. Before planting the bush, get rid of branches coming out of the ground. Leave only powerful shoots. It is better to cut them in half to achieve the desired proportionality.

After planting a seedling, it is important that the blueberries take root. Properly performed pruning of a young plant helps to concentrate nutrients at the roots. It is recommended to cut off the buds that appear in the first year.

Pruning an adult bush

In the early years, the plant is pruned to achieve strong tillering. Remove, first of all, shoots that are unable to bear fruit.

In adult blueberries, bushy growths that form near the roots are cut off. Bushes are thinned out to stimulate the development of new shoots. After five or six years of age, the bush should begin to cut off old branches and replace them with new ones.

Young bushes should be pruned moderately to awaken the buds near the base of the bush. In old bushes, the crown is partially removed so that the growth of new shoots begins. It makes sense for developed bushes to carry out a small sanitary pruning so as not to increase their branching.

So that the berries do not grow too small, some of the short branches, along with the buds, should be cut. Moreover, the more shoots a particular blueberry variety has, the stronger it is to cut the bushes according to this scheme. Low shoot varieties do not require heavy pruning.

When pruning bushes older than five years, to get large berries, you need to cut off all old branches. If you want to get a lot of harvest, and the size of the berries is not so important, you can leave six-seven-year-old branches.

When it is necessary to cut the bush at the root

Sometimes, to rejuvenate a plant, you have to cut it at the root. Pruning at the root is necessary if the bushes began to dry out in the heat from a lack of moisture, and if all the shoots that bear fruit are outdated and are no longer able to bear fruit.

After pruning the bush at the root, you need to provide blueberries with timely watering and nutrition so that the plant recovers over the next two to three years.

Caring for the bush after pruning

After autumn pruning, blueberry bushes are treated with garden pitch so that harmful bacteria, pathogens, do not penetrate into open wounds. Processing with garden pitch is done for thick stems, from one centimeter and thicker.

In addition, it is necessary to fertilize the plant so that it restores vitality before wintering. For these purposes, mineral fertilizers rich in potassium and phosphorus are used. It is impossible to use nitrogen fertilizers in this case, in order to avoid freezing the bush.

Conclusion

Pruning bushes is a necessary measure for blueberries, serving to ensure proper development and fruiting of the plant.Despite the fact that blueberries are a relatively unpretentious plant, this process must be treated responsibly and avoid mistakes that will harm the bushes.

Recommended