How to Prune a 3-Year-Old Blueberry Bush

Choose a time to prune your blueberry bushes. The plant should be dormant; such as late fall, winter, or early spring. Blueberry plants thrive if you perform the maintenance at the same time each year, so choose a convenient time in your schedule. Early spring pruning can be beneficial because you can inspect the plants for winter damage.

Inspect the bush for signs of disease or damage and remove those branches. Remove all diseased areas so that they do not affect the plant growth long term.

Remove any branches that are low on the plant such as those within 1 foot of the land surface and higher branches that are skinnier and frailer than the others are. Three-year old plants are not mature enough to have a significant number of old canes that you should remove.

Trim branches so that the shape of the bush is narrower at the base and open in the center. Removing branches that are growing through the middle of the plant will help get sunlight and air to the entire plant, which will stimulate growth and fruit production. Take care not to prune too much off the plant in these early years. The goal for young plants is to develop a few branches that will produce significant amounts of fruit.