I have great blueberry bushes but I am not sure when to trim them?
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Doc30471781
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I don't want to miss having the blue berries product as much as I can.. Even if I do not need them the birds love them . I wonder what is the correct height to trim them to>
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The best time to trim them is in late winter when they are dormant, so you have some time. But they need to be pruned yearly for best results.
Don't get crazy: remove any diseased or broken wood as well as any branches that cross over other branches. The idea is to have a bush with a narrow base and a wide, open top and canes reaching for the sky. That way, the open top allows air and sunlight to reach throughout the bush.
The oldest canes on the bush are the ones that have been producing a great deal, but they also wear out. As you are removing the dead and diseased wood, remove no more than 2-3 of the older canes-- more than 7 years old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJS3JKHPccE
Roxanng said exactly what I was going to say in her first sentence. LOL Here is an article that you can read and print if you want. I know I like to read things more than once. Be sure to click the "Keep Reading" button to see the whole article because there is a lot more than just that small part. I had to scroll down to the place where it said "You are now reading" and use that "Keep Reading" button to make it work. That may not happen to you, This is 'just in case'. ;)
There are both high bush and low bush blueberries. You didn't say if you knew what type your plants were.
My experience with both, is that if you want the max yield of fruit then don't trim them. However, I found that they high bush kind grew too high for me to pick because I couldn't reach the fruit, so I kept them trimmed down to the height that I could reach.
With the low bush type, I did have to trim them eventually so that they didn't grow into the neighbour's yard, grow into other plants, and so on.
So, the bottom line is there is no "correct" height for blueberries. Just trim them to what size you can physically manage and maintain, and to a size you decide fits your space best.
When it comes to pruning, I use the old farmer's method: from Spring thru Fall, only prune in months that have a "R" in their name. For example, you can prune in April but not in May. April has a R but May does not. I have used this method for many years. I like it because it is easy to remember.