How to Prune Blueberry Bushes (Late Winter, 20 Minutes)

Prune in late winter, while the bush is dormant and you can see its structure. A mature blueberry should carry a mix of cane ages: each year it grows new, vigorous canes from the base, and each year you remove the oldest, weakest wood so light and air reach the center.

The annual pass

1. Cut out anything dead, broken or diseased — back to healthy wood.
2. Remove low, weak, twiggy growth and canes thinner than a pencil that crowd the center.
3. On bushes 6+ years old, remove 1–3 of the oldest, thickest canes at ground level each year. A mature bush should hold roughly 6–10 strong canes of mixed ages.
4. Shorten overly tall, leggy canes to a strong outward bud to keep picking height humane.

Years 1–3 are different

Young bushes need almost no pruning beyond removing flowers (year one) and weak growth: the goal is wood and roots, not fruit. The renewal habit starts once the bush is established. Skipping pruning for years produces the classic overgrown bush — a thicket of old gray wood with berries only on the outside. That bush can be renovated over two winters by removing a third of the oldest canes each year.